Delta Emerald
by MarineAurora
Summary: This story is discontinued! Sorry for the hope I gave you, but I can't do it anymore.
1. Prologue

Hello everybody,

First of all, welcome and thank you for trying out one of my stories. This is going to be my first ever multi-chapter story, so I hope you will be patient with me. There are however a few things I will need to address before I can start the fic.

1\. As the title states this fic will mostly follow the Emerald storyline while influenced by the ORAS games and will use the ORAS Pokédex entries and mechanics.

2\. This fic is following Aurora and Vivian, two OCs who will take over the role of the main character (Brendan/May). If you don't like OCs, you are hereby warned. Aurora's and Vivian's profiles will be posted on my profile.

3\. This is AU, there are going to be things that don't correspond to canon. For example, the Gym Leaders will be dealt with in a different order, so they will need different teams to accommodate to the difficulty level that is required.

Anyway, for now, this should be it. I hope you will have a lot of fun!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. I do own Aurora Lockwood and Vivian Rosenfeld. And my part of the plot.

* * *

 **Prologue**

A figure was standing on the top deck of the ferry that was cruising through the seas around Hoenn. The female figure was watching over the sea, looking at the slowly changing scenery. Many Pokémon that she hadn't seen before were jumping out of the water along the ship. The Wailord were just swimming next to the ship while the Winggull and Pelliper were flying in the skies.

The name of this figure: Aurora Lockwood. A girl, twenty years of age and she owned a headful of copper red hair and unique teal eyes. A trainer from the Kalos region, whose hometown was Snowbelle City, the City of everlasting winter. Her parents still live there. Her mom owned her own berry farm just outside Snowbelle and her dad was a Gym Trainer at the Snowbelle Gym training under her honorary Uncle, Wulfric. Oh, and she has an annoying little sister named Jenn, who wants to be a Top Coordinator.

Despite having lived around Pokémon her whole life, Aurora had decided against starting her own journey at the usual age of ten. At that time, her mother had gotten in an accident when she was at work on the berry farm. She had fallen from a ladder when she was picking Iapapa berries after a Scyther had bumped into it and had been admitted to the hospital for several months for multiple broken bones and then revalidation. Aurora's parents had tried to convince her to go on her journey, but she had held her foot down. Together with her Starter Pokémon Shuppet, Aurora had taken care of the farm for the months her mother had been out of commission.

After that time had somehow sped up, she was awarded more duties on the farm after her Mom went back to work and Aurora never managed to get away from the duties that she now saw as a trap to keep her in Snowbelle. Her Mother had finally seen the dangers of the Pokémon world and didn't want her eldest daughter to have anything to do with it.

In the end, she hadn't left Snowbelle City before the age of fourteen with her best friend Vivian or as Aurora liked to call her: Viv. Vivian and she had been friends for what felt like their entire lives. They had been best friends since Aurora and her mom had taken a shiny, injured Swablu to the Pokémon Center, who later had become Vivian's Starter Pokémon. Before the episode with Swablu, they had been just good friends. The late start on their journey solidified the bond between them for good.

Aurora shifted an egg in her arms, being careful not to drop it. The egg was black with a blue stripe going down the middle. She gave a wistful sigh as she held it just a little bit closer to her chest. Her Vulpix was next to her, standing against the railing, trying to see more of the spectacle the water Pokémon were making. Aurora looked fondly at the fox and sank into her thoughts about her previous journeys.

* * *

In their first year on their own, a lot had happened to Aurora and Vivian. They had decided to merely journey through Kalos at first since they had known at the start that they would be too late to enter the league that year. As they had traveled, both of them had caught new members for their teams.

The blonde girl had been lucky and had found four Pokémon to add to her team. Azurill had joined first, then Flabébé. Aurora had then predicted that her friend's team would probably end up to be a Monotype Team, a Fairy Team. She would later be teased by Vivian when her prediction came true. Dedenne was caught by the golden blonde after the mouse had made a nuisance of himself in Geosenge Town. Vivian continued her lucky strike when she found a Mime Jr. in Reflection cave.

Aurora was not so lucky in regards to finding Pokémon. In Kalos, only an Eevee found his way to Aurora just after she had beaten Grant, the gym leader of Cyllage City. Eevee and Shuppet made a fearsome team after Eevee had gained some experience in battling under the command of a trainer. Aurora and her Pokémon narrowly defeated the Shalour gym Leader Korrina. She had gotten extremely lucky there; winning because of the fact that Shuppet had evolved into a Banette during the fight. Vivian had had an easier time with her team of fairies and her Altaria, who had evolved from Swablu by then.

The two girls had been on a high; their first three badges had been won easily. Because of unknown reasons the Coumarine and Luminose City Gym were temporarily unavailable and thus they had to be visited at a later time. However, in the next city they visited, their journey took a very unexpected turn.

In Laverre City, Vivian had challenged gym Leader Valerie for the Fairy Badge. She lost, badly. The young Fairy-type trainer had lost against an older, more experienced Trainer who specialized in the same Type. Valerie had been impressed by the fight that Vivian and her Pokémon had put up. A trainer who by all accounts had only been on her journey for six months. A trainer that was so good at understanding her Fairy-type Pokémon and was able to bring out so much strength of her Pokémon had a gift, one that Valerie wanted to see more about.

So Valerie offered the young girl an apprenticeship to train in the ways of a Fairy-Type Trainer. The blonde had hesitated to take the offer and had said that she would give her answer the next day.

That night Aurora encouraged her friend to take the offer, knowing that this was an opportunity that would only come once a lifetime. She knew. Aurora knew that Vivian would be able to become great. Too bad that Viv didn't have the same confidence in herself as Aurora had in her. Aurora told her that this was the chance of a lifetime and that she would regret it if she never took the chance. The next day Vivian Rosenfeld told the Laverre Gym Leader that she would happily accept Valerie's offer to become Valerie's apprentice.

Aurora had left her best friend in the capable hands of Valerie and left Laverre City, going back to Snowbelle for a visit. After she left for her next departure, everything had seemed to go so fast.

* * *

First, Aurora visited Sinnoh and there she caught a Feebas, that had evolved surprisingly quickly into a beautiful Milotic. In that same year, her Eevee evolved in a Leafeon when Aurora had gotten lost in Eterna Forest. She did not challenge the Pokémon league that year either, knowing she was not ready for it. Instead, she preferred to just travel through the Sinnoh region and see all that she could. She did, however, join some Battle Tournaments. In those tournaments, she would usually manage to either rank high or win them. After seeing all that she had wanted to see in Sinnoh, she left to go to Kanto.

In Kanto, she caught a Vulpix that had gotten herself in a spot of trouble. She went to Lavender Town to pay her respects to the departed Pokémon. She did try to take the Gym Challenge but found that she still had to learn a lot before she was truly comfortable to take the challenge seriously. Aurora left earlier than she had planned, leaving after only eight months and five badges, to visit the Orange Islands. Having heard of their unique style of gym battles, she was keen on trying them. She left the Orange Island Archipelago after realizing she had spent way too much time there.

She stopped for a bit in Kalos before she was on her way to Johto. In Kalos, she met up with Vivian. The now confident girl had swiftly risen through the ranks at the Laverre Gym, reaching the Deputy rank. For the first few months Kris's life was made hard by the other Furisode Girls. These girls didn't show the same devotion to their Pokémon as the golden blonde did and even made fun of Altaria, going as far as trying to hurt the poor bird for not being a Fairy-Type.

Aurora and Christabel caught up during Aurora's months in Kalos. Viv had told Aurora all about her daily life at the Gym and the people that lived in Laverre, including the newcomer François, an breeder of canine Pokémon. Kris would go on her free days to help him with the Pack. Aurora also participated in the Luminose City Battle Challenge and fought in the many Trainer cafés while she was in Kalos. Even challenged the Battle Mansion several times, rising to the rank of Countess. Aurora celebrated her eighteenth birthday in Snowbelle City with her family, Viv and her mom, and her uncle Wulfric.

* * *

In Johto, Aurora had a bad experience. After winning her fifth badge in Cianwood, she went to the newly opened Safari Zone. There she had fallen into a uncovered dry well, chased by angry Houndoom that had been stirred up by another trainer. The walls of the well had been dotted with sharp points that caused deep wounds all over her back and lower legs. Seeing as the wall was too high and too steep to climb even if she wasn't injured, all she could then was wait. She was stuck for about ten hours in the well of which the walls were crumbling down upon her.

Finally a Metang had heard her cry out in fear when another piece of wall came falling down on her. The Iron Claw Pokémon rescued her from the well and since then protectively stuck to her side, refusing to let her go off on her own again without it, lest she would manage to get hurt again.

Johto was also the first region in which she set out to gain all eight badges and compete in the Silver Conference. With her team of five Pokémon she managed to gain entry in the top 8 of the Johto Pokémon league, losing from the Trainer who would become the winner of the Tournament.

After her loss in Johto, she went back to Sinnoh once again, feeling that the region would be her best bet to advance to greater heights. She had beaten all eight of the required Gyms in no time at all and wasted the rest of the time training on Iron Island. There she met Riley. After a few clashes about whether or not she should be on Iron Island, seeing as that she - according to Riley - had weaker Pokémon than that there were on the Island, the two became friends. When she had to leave to be on time to compete in the Lily-of-the-Valley Tournament, he gave her a Pokémon egg that he had found on the island.

Aurora blazed through the tournament right into the finals. In the finals, she lost at the hands of a trainer that was a complete and utter nutjob. He kept shouting abusive statements to her, her Pokémon, and even to his own Pokémon. Aurora's Pokémon had fought until the bitter end for her; showing strength, courage, willpower, and their love for her, taking out four of the opponent's Pokémon. Her enemy showed no mercy to Aurora, pounding her Pokémon into the battlefield over and over again. During the last round of the battle, the opponent's Arcanine fired off a Flamethrower that had hit Aurora on the shoulder. Her opponent kept receiving shouts of disgust and rage from the audience, but he, after the battle had ended, was still crowned the winner of the Lily-of-the-Valley Conference. Aurora left the battlefield with a heavy heart and a broken spirit.

* * *

Aurora had been sitting in the Pokémon Center at the Pokémon League, waiting on news about her battered Pokémon. With her heart heavy with guilt, she lifelessly picked up her X-transceiver when Vivian called to ask how her battle had gone with a big smile on her face. Aurora in turn just looked at Kris with the most broken look on her face that the other girl had ever seen.

"So bad? Oh, sweetie, it will be alright." The blonde had a concerned look on her face and felt bad for the other girl. The defeated Aurora broke down, not having heard the words that Viv had uttered. The blonde had to spend the better part of the 20 minute conversation trying to get Aurora to calm down enough to speak with her. When she had finally calmed down enough to listen, Viv revealed the true reason of why she had called. To Aurora it felt like a kick to the gut.

"The Pokémon league in Hoenn has asked Valerie if one of the gym trainers of Laverre Gym would be willing to open up a gym in Hoenn. And guess what?! Valerie recommended _me_!" She gushed, ecstatic about the praise that Valerie was granting her.

"That is great, Vivie." Aurora managed to force the words out of her suddenly constricted throat. Vivian didn't seem to notice that Aurora was forcing herself to be happy for her best friend. So she asked the one thing of Aurora, that the other girl could help her with.

"Will you come with me?" That question echoed in Aurora's head. 'Why did Vivian want her, a worthless Trainer, to come with an upcoming Gym Leader?' She wondered. A burst of anger shot through her, but it was quickly overwhelmed by her guilt and sadness.

"You are still my best friend in the world, you know? I need you to come with me to meet the other Gym Leaders." Vivian pleaded with her best friend, hoping to convince her.

"Okay."

* * *

"Vulpiiix!" Aurora was startled out of her thoughts by her Vulpix.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We will dock at Slateport City Harbor in about two hours. We thank you for traveling with Lapras Ferry and wish you a good stay in Hoenn." Aurora could see land on the horizon.

Scarred and broken as she felt, she found that she was still able to smile. A small, but genuine smile appeared on her face. Her Vulpix was surprised by her smile and yipped happily in response. Aurora knelt and was assaulted by the six-tailed fox who started to lick her face, making the smile grow a little wider on Aurora's face. Her once dull eyes came back to life with a small sparkle, making them seem brighter once again.

"I'll find my dream and make it come true, Vulpix."

Aurora stood up and watched the land grow closer and her future brighter.

* * *

2-4-2016


	2. Chapter 1: Reunion

Thank you, TakeThePRNDL and FictionalAffluency19 for favorite-ing this story!

Thank you, The 6th Spectral King for reviewing!

And much gratitude to Danforth Kensington for reviewing this story and allowing me to make use of his OC François Milton!

All hail Deneca for putting up with me, Beta reading my stuff!

 **Disclaimer: Pokémon, sadly, does not belong to me. Aurora and Vivian, however, are mine. As is the plot, mostly. Okay, maybe a bit.**

And now on to the story!

* * *

 **Chapter one:** Reunion!

The ferry had only just docked at the Slateport City Harbor when Aurora heard someone shout out her name.

"Aurora!" Said girl looked over the side of the ship at the dock to see who was shouting. Just seconds after someone had shouted, a graceful Altaria showed up next to Aurora's side, but it was not a normal Altaria. The bird that had perched on the railing on Aurora's right side was a shiny Altaria, one that Aurora was very familiar with.

"Hey, Altaria. I've missed you," Aurora spoke softly to the magnificent bird. She had to wait a bit before disembarking, as it seemed like everyone else on board of the ferry had made a mad dash to the exit. Placing her backpack on the ground, she spend the time she had to wait petting the fluffy Pokémon to her heart's content.

"What a beautiful Altaria you have there!" A voice came from not far away. Aurora looked to her left to see a turquoise-haired girl standing on the deck, with sparkling eyes and an Altaria of her own next to the girl.

"This Altaria is not mine. She is the partner of my friend." Aurora said still she did not raise her voice above a whisper, but the other girl seemed to hear her perfectly.

"Oh." The girl was taken aback by the short, answer and the sheer amount of emotion that the answer conveyed. Aurora couldn't be bothered to say anything else to the girl after that.

"My name is Lisia and this is my partner Ali." Lisia introduced both her and her Pokémon to the girl leaning against the railing in an attempt to kill some time before she could safely disembark, far away from the rushing crowd.

"Aurora. This is Vulpix and that is Altaria." Knowing better than to be rude to someone, Aurora gave her name to Lisia and made a half-hearted gesture to point out her Vulpix. Ali flew off to sit next to Altaria and Lisia saw the six-tailed Pokémon that was on the floor. She cooed at the small fox that was curled around Aurora's legs.

Vulpix really didn't like the turquoise-haired girl who was making those awful noises. She really didn't know why Humans were so insistent on making those annoying, high-pitched noises that would hurt her ears every time. If the cooing girl even tried to touch her, Vulpix was going to Flame Charge the Human's stomach.

"You better quit while you are ahead. Vulpix doesn't like strangers, at all." Aurora had taken one look at Vulpix and seen that the Pokémon was seconds away from attempting to hurt the other girl. Turning around she faced Lisia and warned her before Vulpix had the chance to do something. Lisia took one look at Aurora and seeing she was serious, backed up very swiftly, away from Vulpix and her wrath.

The fire fox rubbed her head against Aurora's boot clad legs to show her appreciation for the fact that her beloved trainer had made the annoying one back off. Aurora smiled at the fox in turn and knelt to tenderly stroke the fox's head, taking her time to rub the lock on her fox's head and to trail the curls. Vulpix slowly closed her eyes in bliss from the gentle caresses.

"Sooo, what you going to do here in Hoenn Aurora?" Lisia asked the now kneeling Aurora. She was curious about what the (Lisia suspected) older female Trainer was coming to Hoenn for.

"I don't know yet, but I hope to find a reason here." The response from Aurora was not what Lisia expected from a trainer who obviously had much experience in training Pokémon. Lisia then looked at the other Trainer and saw something she wished she hadn't.

Aurora was not fine like Lisia had thought the first time she had seen the other girl on the top deck just hours ago. Despite the confident manner the girl possessed, with the caring looks for the egg in her hands and the fox rubbing the girl's legs, Aurora seemed to have no direction. It was like she had lost her way. Lisia did not know what had happened, but she did know that it was weighing down heavily on Aurora's shoulders.

At that moment, they were informed by a friendly sailor that the mad rush had finally slowed down enough and that they would be able to leave the ship without getting crushed by the crowd.

"See you again, maybe. Lisia, Ali." Before Lisia had understood that sentence completely, Aurora had grabbed her backpack with one arm, the other one still holding the egg and was gone, with her Vulpix and the shiny Altaria in tow.

'See you again, Aurora.' Lisia wanted to hear if Aurora would manage to find her reason.

* * *

Aurora had left the ship rapidly in search for Vivian before her childhood friend exploded in excitement or something silly like that. The fact that she ditched Lisia was just a happy coincidence, really.

Altaria was leading the way, flying in the air. She stood out like a beacon against the blue sky, and people were looking up to stare at the bird. Aurora felt rather than saw Viv coming up to her. Knowing her best friend, Aurora lifted her hands up in the sky to prevent her egg from being crushed by one of Vivian's bear hugs. True to form, the blonde had grabbed her best friend into an embrace. Not being able to resist Viv and her hugs, Aurora gave in and wrapped one arm around her best friend to return the hug.

"Alright Viane, my dear, let the pretty lady go. We don't want her to suffocate." A silky, male voice interrupted the two reunited friends.

"Be quiet, France." Vivian had let go of Aurora to tell her friend off and then turned back. She checked her friend for any injuries.

She looked fine. What was weird was that Aurora had hidden her hair underneath a beanie in Hoenn weather. She had left some wisps of her copper red bangs out to frame her tanned, heart-shaped face. What scared Vivian, were Aurora's eyes. Once lively eyes, were now dull and dark. It made Viv shiver a bit.

Somehow, it felt to Vivian as if Aurora was completely defeated.

Vivian wore more standard clothes that were more suited for trainers on the road. Granted they were colorful, but still better than that Furisode she wore at the Laverre gym would have ever been.

'The ensemble is very…her.' Aurora just couldn't suppress that thought, giving a small smile.

Vivian's curly golden blonde hair was worn in a braid that was thrown to the front, over her right shoulder. And het chocolate brown eyes were sparkling happily, but Aurora could detect a hint of concern in her round eyes.

To get away from her concerned eyes, Aurora turned a little to her right to look at the male that had warned Viv not to suffocate her friend. He was standing next to the biggest Arcanine Aurora had ever seen.

"Hi, my name is Aurora Lockwood. I don't think we have met before?" Aurora's manners forced her to introduce herself but she didn't sound happy about it. She was a bit fearful of the huge Arcanine.

"No, I don't think we have, to be honest. I'm François Milton, this is my Beta: Luuk von Rotterkuste." The male introduced himself and the Pokémon that was standing to the left of him. The Arcanine barked in recognition to his Alpha.

"Pleasure, I guess." Aurora shifted nervously on her spot, wanting to get far away from the intimidating Pokémon, earning her an unseen irritated glance from the blonde. The girl was rather fond of the breeder and found Aurora's response rude. De blonde decided not to mention it right then, saving it for a later time.

The orange canine was even bigger than the one she had faced in the finals of the Lily-of-the-Valley Conference. Being so close made Aurora remember the finals. Another one had tried to roast her. When the flames had come her way, Aurora had been rooted to the spot in fear. Leafeon had stood in front of the attack and took the brunt of it, but it had not had saved Aurora from getting hurt in the process, the burn on her left shoulder proved that. Leafeon had been burned so badly that the poor thing had to spend a week in the Pokémon center before his burns were healed enough to be released.

Aurora shivered and subconsciously raised her left hand to her shoulder as she thought back to that horrible day more than a month ago. Abruptly she stopped the motion, wrapped the arm back around the egg, and then tightened her hold on it. It reassured her to feel the warm egg. Aurora frowned as she analyzed François' statement in her head.

"Wait, what do you mean by Beta, François?" Aurora was very confused and she tilted her head at him waiting for the answer. "And why does he have such a fancy last name?"

"I am a Pokémon Breeder. I specialize in Canine Pokémon and my pack is called the Von Rotterkuste Pack." François tried to explain to the confused girl.

"Still don't get it, sorry." Truth to be told, Aurora had gotten her head rather quickly around what François was trying to say but felt like the opportunity to mess with François' head a little was too good to pass up. Watching him explain things was amusing, at least. He was quite…expressive with his hands, but his face betrayed nothing.

"Well, I guess you could say that I am the leader of all of the Pokémon in my Breeding Center, which is called the Red Coast Grounds. As such I am the Pack leader and thus regarded as the Alpha. Luuk here is my second in command and carries the title of Beta. He and his Mate Elsje take care of the Pack if I am absent." François looked at the girl clad in green to see if she had understood it now, but he saw her holding in her hand in front of her mouth. That was a good indicator that she was amused. He just looked at her as her eyes sparkled a little, his own amusement growing.

Vivian was watching the two with mounting apprehension, not wanting the two to hate each other. She was hoping with all her might that François and Aurora would be able to at least be civil to her.

"Everything alright with the two of you?" She asked, trying to figure out what was going on. The other two turned to Viv, and François smiled at her. What surprised her was that Aurora's eyes had gotten a little brighter, and a little sparkle had appeared in them.

"So shall we go to Red Coast Grounds, then? I'm sure, my dear Bell, that your friend is tired from her travels by ship." François suggested to her, leaving Aurora out of the conversation and insulting her at the same time. Vivian was sure it was unintentional.

"We are not staying at the Poké Center, Viv?" The teal-eyed girl looked at her friend with a small amount of confusion in her eyes. Her friend shuffled around a little while avoiding to look at the other girl. She then murmured something that Aurora couldn't catch.

"Vivian, you have to speak up. I can't hear you if you murmur like that." Aurora said harshly. She had little patience at the moment for secrets or being manipulated.

"I wanted to play with the pups at Red Coast, so I asked François if I could stay there while I was waiting for you," She told Aurora with a sheepish look on her face. Aurora just raised her eyebrow at that statement and shrugged, turning to François.

"Lead the way then, France. At least it explains why you are here too." She gave François a look that told him to better start walking before Aurora would hurt someone or more specifically him.

"Sure. Please follow me, ladies. We need to go through the main part of Slateport City to the other side of the city." François and Luuk turned around and started walking towards their home.

Vivianand Aurora followed swiftly, stepping lightly on the ground underneath them. Aurora, knowing that Vulpix was tired, called the fox back into her Poké Ball.

* * *

"How come you have a Pokémon egg, Aura? And do you know what kind of Pokémon is in it?" The blonde's curiosity was high after having watched Aurora carrying it and softly whispering at the egg.

"This little one was a gift from a dear friend of mine. I do not know what kind of Pokémon is in the egg. My best guess would be a Steel-type." Aurora gave the egg a fond look before continuing her story. "Riley, the guy who gave me this egg, and I met on Iron Island in Sinnoh. At first we couldn't stand each other, but I guess my Pokémon and I impressed him."

"Impressed him?" Came a voice from the front, François was listening to the two girls to make sure that everything was alright. One never knew what could happen in a port town after all.

"Yeah, he got cornered while he was searching for the source of a disturbance in the lower levels of the mine. Leafeon found Riley and the five Steelix that had cornered him and his Lucario, lead me to where Riley was, and then we fought off the Steelix together. After that, he made sure to take all his Pokémon with him." Gradually during talking Aurora's face had softened up. It made her look a lot more youthful. Vivian was happy that something was already changing within Aurora. Then it sank in.

"Five Steelix?! Are you crazy? How did you survive that?! You could've gotten yourself killed!" She exclaimed, with her brown eyes wide and full of disbelief, her mouth wide open as she stared at Aurora like she was mad.

"Would you rather have me stay back the next time someone needs help?" Aurora bit out harshly, causing her friend to flinch.

"We survived it because of Leafeon, Vulpix, and his Lucario. They're strong Pokémon and work together very well. When I and Riley actually make an effort to work together, we make a great team." She felt insulted and a little bit hurt from Viv's reaction. Did the blonde think she was incompetent? Her eyes turned back to their darker, greener shade as she stewed in her own misery.

Vivian felt stupid; Aurora had taken care of herself for years. Of course, she would be able to fight off some Steelix with her Pokémon whereas the Fairy-type trainer wouldn't be able to because her own team consisted solely of Fairy-type Pokémon.

"I'm sorry, Aurora. I freaked out at the thought of you possibly getting hurt again like when you were in Johto." Aurora looked at her friend and saw that Vivian was looking at her slowly moving feet, feeling a little put out with herself.

"It's okay, but I can take care of myself, and my Pokémon also look out for me." Aurora didn't want to make her best friend feel bad. She knew she shouldn't take out her own feelings of frustration and helplessness on Vivian, but it was hard.

Before either of the girls could say anything else, an angry scream came from their left. "YOU ARCEUS DAMNED WORTHLESS FREAK!"

Aurora and Vivian shared one look and ran off together to find the source of the scream, leaving François behind with Luuk. It wasn't hard to find the source since there was more where that scream came from.

* * *

The girls arrived at a massive park, less than a minute after they had heard the shouting start. It was strangely quiet now, like the calm before a storm. They stopped and listened if they could hear where the shouting had come from. Apparently the one that was shouting had only stopped to take a breath because Viv heard him start again behind the bushes from where she was standing. Aurora and Vivian moved as one unit and went around the corner and reached a big field, big enough to hold Pokémon battles on at least. Around the field were onlookers staring with disgust on their faces at the scene in front of them.

A trainer was shouting at a pink four-legged Pokémon that was curled up, trying to get away from its trainer and his wrath.

"No! I wanted an Umbreon. Not some girly pink thing! I didn't raise you to be like that." The voice of the male trainer had slowly gotten softer as he went further.

"After all the trouble I went through to get you and train you, this is how you pay me back?! I should've drowned you a long time ago!"

The trainer then attacked the poor thing, kicking at it. The pink fox dodged the first two kicks, but then the trainer hit its front paw with his boot. The Pokémon cried out in pain as an audible crack was heard throughout the grassy field.

The blonde acted on pure instinct. One moment she was standing next to her friend, and the next thing Aurora knew, she was kneeling protectively in front of the pink Pokémon.

Aurora saw the kick flying at Viv with mounting anger and was too late to prevent to the male trainer from kicking her best friend. The blonde just grunted from the pain as she was hit and she held her ground, staying in front of the hurt Pokémon. The pink Pokémon looked up when the expected pain from being kicked did not come. The only pain it felt was the throbbing in its hurt paw. Its blue eyes widened when it saw a girl above it with a pained expression on her face.

"It will be okay, little Sylveon. I won't let him hurt you again." Vivian managed to get out through clenched teeth, smiling bravely through her pain. When she had jumped in front of the kick meant for the fox she had landed on her bad wrist and it hurt badly. Not even the Trainer's kick had hurt this much.

The trainer was getting pissed off at the interference of the blonde-haired girl.

"And why do you think that, girl? That thing is still mine!" As he made a move to hit the annoying girl with the back of his hand, an arm suddenly blocked the slap, deflecting it to skirt above the head of another girl. This one wasn't happy and her teal eyes unnerved him.

"Who the fuck are you? What do you want?" The trainer was getting slightly scared when all Aurora did was put down her pack next to her friend and Sylveon. She gave the other girl her egg and the instruction to watch over it. The beanie-wearing girl then grabbed a Poké Ball from her belt with her right hand and enlarged it.

"I am Aurora Lockwood. You just hurt my friend and then you tried to hurt her again. You managed to piss me off." Aurora hissed at the male Trainer. She hated people like this. People who disrespected their Pokémon and above all those who hurt their Pokémon

He stood almost a head taller than the girl in front of him, but somehow she seemed to tower above him. What scared him most was not the angry expression on her face, her confident stance or the fact that she, too, was a trainer. Her eyes were the source of his problems.

No longer were Aurora's eyes dull and lifeless; they were full of determination and promising retribution for what he had done to her friend and his Sylveon.

She drew up to her full height and thrust out the hand that held her Poké Ball to his chest.

"I, Aurora Lockwood, challenge you to a battle for the ownership of the Sylveon and the honor of my friend. If you somehow win this fight I'll pay you 60.000 Poké Dollar." Gasps were heard around the field. The challenge was laid down for all the bystanders to hear and the male trainer was taken aback. Sixty thousand Poké Dollar. That was enough to live off for at least a month or two. His greed got the better of him as he found himself agreeing to the girl's challenge.

"I, Hunter Johnson, will take on your challenge and agree to the terms as stated by you." He felt a bit nervous and knew he was in for a tough match, but she was a girl so he should be able to win. The girl was calling something out to the crowd that irked him.

"We need a referee. Would somebody please take that place?" Hunter didn't want a referee for obvious reasons, hoping to walk away unscathed. "We don't need a referee, shorty. Don't you trust me?"

"No. I don't trust someone who has hurt my friend right in front of me." She snapped back at him and didn't respond to his other rebuffs.

"I'll be your referee." A familiar voice came from behind Aurora. She turned around and saw an irritated François standing next to Viv. Luuk was already lying protectively around Vivian and the Sylveon. The blonde was holding Aurora's egg and sitting next to the Sylveon, softly petting the shivering Pokémon who had curled up to the girl's side with her nose buried in her thigh. Both the girl and the fox had a temporary bandage around their hurt appendages.

"Hey. I was wondering when you would catch up, Alpha. Alright, let's get this battle on the road. Two Pokémon each, to knockout, no substitutes only switching between rounds. You hear that, Alpha?" François nodded, not even responding to his new nickname, and then the girl immediately led everything on track and had the battle started.

* * *

"This is a battle between Aurora Lockwood and Hunter Johnson for the ownership of Hunter's Sylveon and 60,000 Poké Dollar. Match begin!" François kicked the battle of to a swift start, worried about Aurora. He hadn't expected her to act like this.

"Shine, Banette!" Aurora released her Pokémon first as she had issued the challenge to Hunter. Banette came out of his Poké Ball and was surprised by the fact that he was summoned for a battle again after so long. He looked at his beloved Trainer for an explanation.

"Bane, do you see the Sylveon next to Vivian?" Seeing her Pokémon nod, Aurora continued.

"Sylveon was hurt by her own trainer. He is standing off the other side of the field in front of you, and he also hurt Viv," At this Banette got angry and started plotting the demise of the male Trainer that had hurt his Trainer's friend.

"Bane Net Ba." He was all fired up to slam his opponent into the ground.

"Mightyena, let's rock!" Hunter threw his own Pokémon on the field with a smirk. He had it in the bag. He had been expecting a cute Pokémon, so a Banette was surprising but still no match for his Dark-type Pokémon.

The silence following the release of the two Pokémon was deafening. No sound other than the wind rustling through the grass at their feet and the treetops could be heard. The bystanders had quieted down after the challenge had been issued and were now watching with anticipation for what would happen next. The two Pokémon stood completely still, staring at their opponent. Banette was wearing a smirk on his face, while the Mightyena stood there with a glare on its face, trying to intimidate its opponent. Their trainers doing exactly the same from their own places on the field. It was Aurora who broke the stalemate.

"Alright. Shadow Sneak, Banette!" The ghost Pokémon wasted no time in following his trainer's commands and melted in the ground without a sound with his smirk still fastened in place.

Mightyena started to look around to see if he could find a trace of the ghost, with his eyes moving quickly across the ground in a circle around him. Hunter wasn't even bothered by the attack and shouted his own instructions to his Pokémon.

"Mightyena, don't fail me, you hear? It is just a little ghost. It can't hurt you at all. Just wait until it comes out and then Crunch it. Have you gotten that, you stupid beast?" Smirking to himself, Hunter just waited until the Banette would reveal itself.

Angered by the abusive words Hunter had shouted at his own Pokémon, Aurora called out her own command for Banette. "NOW, Banette. Thunder Wave!"

Banette slammed into the Mightyena from below, sparking electricity all around his body as he then fired off charges of paralyzing waves at the wolf-like Pokémon from point blank while the wolf was still in the air. A proven tactic that would usually work only once in a battle, but it was usually enough.

The wolf came crashing down on the grassy floor, landing hard on its paws. Banette in the meantime had already hopped back to his starting position to await further orders.

Hunter was furious with his Pokémon; how hard was it to follow orders?

"Go, you stupid dog and use Ice Fang!" Mightyena growled and prepared the Ice Fang attack, causing its pointed teeth to glow a pale blue light. It growled and then it was off, rushing towards Banette in a straight line.

Mightyena's paws hit the ground at a lower speed than Hunter would've liked. He started shouting at his Pokémon again. "You dumb idiot, go at full speed!"

"He can't, you asshole! Your Mightyena was paralyzed by the Thunder Wave my Banette used. You are going to pay for that mistake. Banette, Dazzling Gleam! Go!" Aurora was happy to see that her strategy for dealing with faster opponents had worked and now Banette was handing out a heavy hit.

Banette chuckled menacingly and thrust out his arm in a manner eerily similar to that what his Trainer had done earlier while challenging that stupid Trainer on the other side of the field. In front of his hand, a ball full of colors formed and then he waited until the Mightyena was close enough for him to do the maximum amount of damage.

The Mightyena had tried to stop and get away from the unfamiliar attack, but even with its reduced speed it was unable to stop in time. The moment Mightyena came into the range of Banette's attack all he knew was pain.

Banette released the Dazzling Gleam. The flash of the attack blinded everyone who had not closed their eyes in time. The Mightyena yelped out in pain as the flash came into its vision. Even Hunter had to shield his eyes from the resulting flash on the other side of the field. Aurora made good use of the distracted Mightyena and called out her latest commands.

"Banette, use Shock Wave and then get in close to use Hex!" Her Pokémon sped off at almost double the speed that the Mightyena had been moving at earlier. Banette, however, didn't charge straight at Mightyena but zigzagged making it hard for the Bite Pokémon to keep an eye on his opponent. Every time the Banette changed direction he released a Shock Wave. As soon as the ghost reached his opponent, he jumped on the back of the wolf and unleashed the Hex he had been charging up.

Nothing Hunter could come up with would work. All he could do was watch as his Pokémon got hit over and over again.

Mightyena's body was wrecked with electricity and could move no longer. He never stood a chance with the oncoming onslaught and when the Hex hit, the canine Pokémon fainted. When he fell to the ground, his eyes closed, and it had a peaceful look on its face.

"Mightyena is unable to battle; Banette wins this round!" François shouted.

* * *

"YOU CHEATER! There is no way a Ghost-type could beat a Dark-type in so little time." Hunter was seething and was making his displeasure known to the whole world. He dared to look at the girl who was ruining his plans and what he saw angered him.

She was standing on the other side of the field, praising her Pokémon for a battle well fought. The Banette was still smirking at Hunter and stuck out its tongue to him when he noticed the bad human looking. The girl stood confidently next to the Ghost-type and gave Hunter a look, before asking him something.

"You obviously don't know who I am, do you, Hunter?" When Hunter shook his head, she gave a smile.

"I am the runner-up from last month's Lily-of-the-Valley Conference. I could beat your entire team up within 10-minutes if it would please me to do so." Hunter paled. As did most of the bystanders. They had heard of that battle, most of them had seen it. The runner-up and her Pokémon had put up a valiant effort, taking out four of the opposing team but were beaten down hard. The trainer had been caught by a stray fire attack, at least that was the official story. The real scary thing was that this slip of a girl had said it all with a smile on her dainty face.

But she didn't look like that trainer. There was no way that what she had said was true. She had to be lying. He couldn't afford to lose.

"So, shall we start round two, Hunter?" said the girl entirely too happy. Hunter wanted to throw a fit but held it in, knowing that it would do him no good.

"Very well. Return, Mightyena, you worthless pieces of shit." He grumbled to the Poké Ball he held in his hand as he called the wolf Pokémon back. "Come out, Sharpedo!"

Aurora turned her head sharply to Hunter's side of the field. Was he kidding? A Sharpedo against a Pokémon that had already demonstrated to be able to use Electric and Fairy-type moves? "Idiot, are you really going to use a Sharpedo against my Banette?" Aurora called out over the field, voicing her thoughts.

"Sharpedo, use Crunch and do it fast!" Hunter needed to gain the advantage quickly if he were to stand a chance against the girl from Hell. She couldn't be allowed to take the lead in the battle again. That had been his downfall in the first round.

Aurora countered swiftly, commanding Banette to use Shadow Sneak once again. As Banette melted back in the shadows as he had done earlier, the Sharpedo rushed into the ground where the Marionette Pokémon had been standing seconds ago. The shark shook the pain off and waited for further instructions.

"Use Taunt. Prevent it from paralyzing you!" Hunter saw the Banette going in the shadows and was fearing another Thunder Wave. Aurora just gave a grin and did nothing to stop the Sharpedo from successfully completing that move.

"You really think that is a fixed strategy? You are so wrong. Banette, Dazzling Gleam. Now!" Aurora shouted with a gleeful expression on her face, adrenaline pumping through her body. She had forgotten what it felt to battle for the sake of battling.

Banette slammed in the Sharpedo from behind, wincing when he received a scrape from Sharpedo's Rough Skin. He charged up the fairy attack, that colorful ball, faster than he had before and shot it off. Sharpedo had just turned around to face the Banette when it was hit hard in the face with the glittering ball.

Without any command coming from his Human Banette decided to finish of the fight and he jumped high in the air. Sparks formed around the ghost's dark gray body as he unleashed a powerful Shock Wave downward at the Brutal Pokémon with a gleeful cry. The Sharpedo resigned itself to its defeat and went down.

"Sharpedo is unable to battle. Banette wins!" François called out.

"The match goes to Aurora Lockwood!"

* * *

The blonde could not believe what her eyes were telling her. Aurora was acting like her normal battle-loving self; she was commanding her Pokémon with a smile and a measure of confidence that she wouldn't see in most Trainers. The swiftness and the ease with which Aurora had defeated Hunter was astonishing.

The blonde stood up, cradling Aurora's egg but stayed at the Sylveon's side. She had grown attached to the pink Eeveelution. The Pokémon had clung to her while Sylveon's abusive Trainer had fought, not to keep Sylveon, but for the money Aurora bet on the pink Pokémon's freedom.

Sylveon liked the female Human who had fought for her freedom, but she liked the Human who had protected her more. Despite knowing that Sylveon now belonged to the Trainer with the ghost, she'd rather stay with the Human who smelled like lavender and vanilla. That one smelled warm, of safety, kindness and - dare Sylveon think it - of home.

The Trainer with the ghost walked to the Male who had been shouting the results of the Battle. Sylveon's now ex-Trainer was cursing and threatening the onlookers with bodily harm if they would as much glance in his direction. The onlookers made themselves scarce when it appeared that the female trainer had the upper hand.

Aurora walked back to Vivian and Sylveon. She could see that the girl had a lot of questions that needed to be answered. So after meeting François in the middle, they went to her.

"How did Banette learn Dazzling Gleam? And what was up with that strategy you used twice? And why did Sharpedo faint so much faster than Mightyena?" Vivian rapidly fired off questions to her best friend, who decided to interrupt her when she had to take a breath.

"Thank you,Viv. That's quite enough. I got a TM for Dazzling Gleam as a present from Valerie for my eighteenth birthday and Banette wanted to learn it while we were still in Sinnoh. That strategy is one that I made specifically for Banette, commonly used to hinder faster Pokémon and to reduce their speed to half. However, that trick only works once. After that, we switch to offensive moves. Sharpedo have very low defensive power. Its forte lies with higher than usual attack stats and speed, so it takes fewer attacks to take one of them out."

Aurora answered the questions as fast and thorough as she could because she still had to take care of Hunter. She took the egg back from Vivian, tried to pat the Sylveon, but it shied away, still clinging to Viv with her feelers. Aurora gave a small frown, but together with Banette she walked to Hunter.

* * *

Hunter couldn't believe it: he had lost even faster in the second round. That bitch must have been cheating; there just was no way she could pull that off. Not twice in a row, not with a Ghost-type fighting against a Dark-type. The only hit he had scored was a self-inflicted move from her Banette while the Marionette Pokémon rammed into his Sharpedo from the back. His anger rose to great heights and when he saw the girl walking up to him with a smirk on her face and an egg in her arms, he acted. He jumped up to his feet and rushed in for a punch. His target was the egg in that bitch's arms.

A flash of red light, signaling a Pokémon coming out of a Poké Ball, greeted him and suddenly he was hanging in the air.

Aurora saw Hunter coming and fear clenched her heart. Her eyes widened in alarm, worried about the egg in her arm. When Metang's Poké Ball abruptly opened and Hunter was hanging in the air from one of Metang's arms, the surprise was evident in Hunter's eyes. Aurora's fear turned into a red-hot fury. Her eyes narrowed as she sought out Hunter's eyes.

Hunter felt shocked when he couldn't feel the ground under his feet anymore. Only when his slow brain registered what had happened he stilled in terror. A fucking Metang was holding his shirt in the claws of its left arm and was shaking him a meter above the ground.

"You lost and now you have to release the Sylveon according to our bet." Aurora's furious eyes were staring into Hunter's terrified ones. Knowing better than to do something stupid when a Pokémon that could crush you had you in his arms, Hunter reached for the Poké Ball that usually contained Sylveon and seconds later a blue beam shot from the Ball to the Eeveelution to signify she was free from Hunter.

Aurora checked if the Sylveon was really released and as soon as Aurora got the signal from Vivian confirming that fact, she turned back to Hunter. Her eyes once again blazing with scorching teal flames.

"Now, this is what's going to happen: Metang will put you down, you will walk away, and never bother me and what is mine again. Is this understood, bastard?" Hunter agreed quickly and was let go by Metang. He landed on his feet and not fancying to find out what would happen if he stuck around. He ran as if Giratina himself was chasing him.

Aurora walked back to Vivian and François with Banette and Metang following closely behind her and started to search through her backpack for an unused Poké Ball. After a minute, she found one and pulled it from the bag. As she rose, she took in the sight of Vivian and Sylveon. The pink Pokémon was still lying with her feelers wrapped around the blonde's leg and Aurora felt herself smile a little.

"Yo. Viv, catch." Vivian turned in time to catch the Poké Ball that Aurora had tossed at her. The confusion must have been visible on her face because Aurora elaborated: "I never said that I would be the new owner of Sylveon. She shied away from me earlier when I tried to pet her, while she keeps holding on to you. She would fit better with you, Viv. That is if she agrees to be your Pokémon." A soft smile was on Aurora's face as she looked onto the scene playing in front of her, with her Banette hugging her leg and Metang hovering protectively next to her. Both agreed with her reasons and were content with what was happening.

Vivian teared up as she knelt next to the Fairy-type Pokémon and softly stroked Pokémon's long ears. "What do you say, Sylveon? Will you be mine?" As the gentle girl held up the enlarged, empty Ball Sylveon cried out in happiness and pressed one of her ribbons against the button. Smiling as she was sucked into the Ball, Sylveon mentally thanked both the Battle Human and the Lavender Female for their kindness.

François watched the scene with surprise. Never in a thousand years would he have expected Aurora to have a Metang, nor for her to give up the Sylveon without as much of a second thought. As he voiced these thoughts to Aurora and Vivian, they replied in one voice:

"A strong Trainer is not always the right Trainer." The two of them looked at each other in surprise, before laughing at François' face. Aurora felt joy, knowing that she always would have Viv to cheer her up.

Aurora looked around her, with her Pokémon still close to her and François, Luuk, and Vivian standing there with determined faces.

"Alright, let us go to the Pokémon Center; Sylveon needs to be checked by Nurse Joy. That crack didn't sound good and then I need a nap." Aurora yawned after that statement, evoking a laugh from both François and Vivian.

After packing up, they set off to the Slateport City Pokémon Center.

Aurora's egg glowed faintly as they went on their way.

* * *

2-4-2016


	3. Chapter 2:Nightmares, Healing and Dreams

Thank you all for coming again to read another chapter of Delta Emerald!

Firstly, thank you Lurking Phoenix and The 6th Spectral King for favorite-ing the story.

Secondly, thank you The 6th Spectral King for reviewing.

And a Happy Birthday to Danforth Kensington!

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** Nightmares, Healing, and Dreams

It was almost 5 o'clock in the evening when Vivian ran up to Francois and Aurora who were waiting for her in the lobby of the Slateport City Pokémon Center.

"Sylveon and Banette are being treated at this moment for their wounds, but Nurse Joy isn't certain that Sylveon will regain full mobility in her left front paw," Viv reported to her friends, nervously playing with the bandage around her own wrist. Aurora wasn't exactly happy with the news that her friend brought but knew that there wasn't anything that she could do about it. She just sighed in frustration and prepared herself to wait for Nurse Joy. When she was finished treating the Pokémon, she would come and tell them more.

François was focused on the egg in Aurora's arms. During the walk to the Pokémon Center, he could have sworn that he had seen it flashing when he looked over his shoulder to check if the girls were still following. At least, that's what François had thought, but Aurora didn't appear to have seen it, not even the slightest bit. During the walk, Aurora had sunk back in that brooding mood she had been in when she got off the ferry.

François remembered something his father had told him a long time ago about Pokémon eggs. Some species of Pokémon could sense emotions, even from inside the egg and would know when it was time to hatch, usually when its arrival was either needed or very much wanted. Most of the time, these Pokémon were Psychic types, but his father had heard of a Dog-like Pokémon that could do that too. Unfortunately, neither of them had been lucky enough to meet a Pokémon like that.

Aurora noticed François's thoughtful stare at the blue Pokémon egg in her arms. She wondered what he was thinking, but didn't give it much thought. Instead, she closed her eyes as she started to hum a song she had heard on Shamouti Island in the Orange Archipelago. Softly stroking the egg with one arm and humming the song, she got lost in her own world. On Viv's shoulder, Altaria hummed along, but Aurora did not seem to notice.

"Aura, you're doing it again. Will you stop that, please?" Viv's annoyed voice came, snapping Aurora out of her relaxing trance, her eyes opening to look at her friend's face. "What was I doing Viv?" Aurora sounded genuinely confused, so Viv shook her head at the girl.

"You were humming again and even though it sounds nice, it's grating on my nerves at the moment." Aurora laughed sheepishly, as her hand came up to scratch the back of her neck. "Sorry Viv. I wasn't aware that it annoyed you a little." She smiled at her friend while trying to look apologetic at the same time. Sobering up, Aurora tried to comfort Vivian, who was clearly worried about the state her newest Pokémon was in.

"Sylveon will be fine, Viv Even if her paw doesn't heal perfectly, she will find a way to make up for it. She is a tough cookie." Aurora's words had a calming effect on Viv, who took a deep breath and she tried to be more positive about Sylveon's state. She was still fiddling with the bandage around her own sprained wrist.

"I guess you're right, Aurora. I'm still worried she won't be able to use it anymore. Nurse Joy said that it was a horribly complicated break." Viv was once again working herself in a panic, so Aurora nipped it in the bud before it could develop further. The throbbing pain from Hunter's kick did not improve her mood either.

"VIV, enough! Let's just wait for news from Nurse Joy before you imagine worst case scenarios about what could happen." Aurora's temper was flaring. She had forgotten how negative the girl could be when a Pokémon was hurt and she couldn't do anything about it. Especially if that girl was left waiting without any information.

"Vivie, I love you to death, but please chill a little." Aurora gave Viv a look that told her friend that she just wanted her to calm down.

"Sorry, I just get so worked up when stuff like this happens." The blonde apologized again. Aurora and François just smiled at the girl. They knew that she was just worried and that as soon as they heard from Nurse Joy everything would be alright again.

"Will Vivian Rosenfeld come to the counter, please?" Nurse Joy's voice rang over the intercom and Vivian was running at the first syllable of her name, with Altaria soaring behind her. François just took it into stride and followed after Vivian. Aurora followed at a slower pace since the crowd had become much denser in the short time they had been standing in the lobby; probably the evening rush for rooms at the Pokémon Center.

François and Vivian were already at the counter talking to Nurse Joy when Aurora arrived there.

"Sylveon is fine. Her left front paw will be sore and weak for a while, so don't let her put too much pressure on it for some time. Walking is fine but if she starts to struggle, please stop her from overdoing it; it won't help her with her recovery." Nurse Joy was explaining to the blonde, who had gone into her Nurse Vivian persona. The girl's Nurse persona was something that had remained from spending her younger years growing up in a Pokémon Center.

"Alright, that should be it. Sylveon is free to be released." Nurse Joy handed over the Poké Ball containing the pink Eeveelution. Viv thanked Nurse Joy quickly, giving her a small bow in gratitude. Nurse Joy turned to Aurora and gave the copper-haired girl her own Poké Ball back.

"Here is Banette. We hope to see you again." Aurora gave a grateful nod to the Nurse. Saying goodbye to Nurse Joy and the Chansey currently behind the counter, the trio left the Pokémon Center in order to finally go to François' Breeding Center: Red Coast Grounds.

After a ten-minute walk, they finally reached the western outskirts of Slateport City. François turned around to make sure that there wasn't going to be any more running off and leaving him behind in the dust, just in time to see Aurora yawn. Vivian giggled and Aurora gave her a scowl in return.

* * *

"It's still twenty minutes further, you know." At this helpful quip from François, Aurora was now glaring daggers at him. Vivian in turn was hiding behind a recently let out Luuk, who had to be returned to his Poké Ball at the Pokémon Center per Nurse Joy's instructions.

"Fine. Let's get there before it gets cold, please. Alpha, lead the way." As Aurora turned back to François, Vivian could see the exhaustion Aurora held in her eyes.

No matter how long ago it had been that they had seen each other, the taller girl still prided herself in being able to pick up even the slightest changes in Aurora's behavior. This time the fatigue was just caused by physical means. Maybe Aurora's wounds from Johto were playing up again? A few days at Red Coast would do the smaller girl some good, Vivian decided.

The trio of Trainers and Luuk were walking along the peaceful coastline. Aurora was enjoying the silence that was only broken by the small waves crashing down on the shore. That silence was harshly broken by the many howls of canine Pokémon that were now running down the path that lead from the Red Coast Ground Breeding Center.

Growlithe and Arcanine, Houndour and Houndoom, Vulpix and Ninetales, Poochyena and Mightyena, and a Leafeon, were all running down the path to meet their Alpha and Beta. Yipping excited and barking, they made their way to the Trio standing at the border of the Pack's territory.

Aurora felt the terror once again creep up on her heart, her eyes widening in fear, as she saw all of the Pokémon running to them. Vivian was once again getting angry at her best friend's rude reaction to something that had to do with François. Luckily, both of them were saved from acting on their emotions as Luuk had sensed her fear and stood guard in front of Aurora, shielding her from the sight of the running canines. Vivian resolved to have a stern talk with Aurora later in the evening as she didn't want François to feel bad about it.

The redhead pressed her face into Luuk coarse fur, gripping it tightly with the fingers of her free hand to try to hold herself together, tears slipping from her teal eyes. Her only bright point now was that somehow Luuk did not scare her anymore, but the sight of multiple of Arcanine and Houndoom running towards her still scared Aurora very much. In her mind they were snarling at her, chasing her or preparing to use a fire attack.

François' eyes lit up at the sight of his pack rushing down to greet him and his guests. Turning around he was shocked at the sight he saw there: a fuming Vivian and Luuk covering a scared Aurora, who was quivering in fear, holding on to the Legendary Pokémon.

Knowing an outburst from the taller girl was coming up if he didn't intervene, he called out to his pack. "Stop it! Calm down, right now!" His pack stopped immediately after hearing François' orders being belted out. Coming to a full stop a yard away from François, they cocked their heads at him not fully understanding what was going on and why they weren't allowed to greet him in their usual way of hopping around and walking with him to the Dens.

"I have a guest who isn't feeling well. She will need rest and a bit of quiet. Can you do that?" His pack understood very well that François was not asking this. Since François' voice was filled with his Alpha timbre, his Pack knew what he was saying was an order and with Luuk reinforcing the Alpha order with a bark, the Pack had no choice to obey. So the Von Rotterkuste Pack turned around and trotted slowly back to the Breeding Center with only a few backwards glances.

François was worried about the girl that was still hanging on to Luuk; earlier in the day she had had a similar reaction to a situation like this one, albeit to a lesser degree, with Luuk. When he thought about it, didn't Aurora say that she was the runner-up in the Sinnoh Conference? He had heard some nasty rumors about it. It was ruled as an accident by the League Officials, although some Trainers still claimed that there had been a deliberate attack on the runner-up. If this was the case, it would explain why Aurora was so afraid of his Arcanine. But why was the fear so strong?

He approached Aurora slowly and helped her to unclench her fingers from Luuk's fur. "It's fine, Aurora. The Pack is going back to the Dens. They are all walking away, see?" He coaxed the fearful girl to open her eyes and to see it for herself. He spoke to her in the voice he normally used for frightened cubs. Aurora cracked one eye open first, somehow knowing she was safe with François and Luuk, that nothing would happen when they were close by. Seeing the backs of the canine Pokémon going away from her, she let out a small sigh of pure relief.

"I'm guessing I have some explaining to do, don't I?" Aurora couldn't even muster up the smallest of smiles. Instead, she allowed the tears that were threatening to fall go their way, to trail down her pale cheeks and end up falling on the blue egg in her arms.

Vivian had never seen her friend cry. Sometimes a tear would slip from her eyes in the past but never in the quantity that they were falling in now. Aurora had always been the strong one of the two, the protector, the fighter, the one who was the unmoving stone in the raging storm. Vivian had been the drifter, the defended, the one who would be blown around in search of direction.

She felt terrible for misjudging her friend's actions so quickly. Looking at the ground, she wondered, with her fists clenching and the nails digging in the palm of her hands. What had happened to her? Why did she assume the worst of Aurora's actions? And why could François see what she had overlooked?

She looked up to see that François was steering Aurora to the house with Luuk pressed against the other side of the girl. The blonde girl could see Aurora's shoulders shaking, her tiny body racking with sobs. Vivian felt something fall on her hand: it was wet and gone in seconds. She looked at the sky to see if it was going to rain. However, the sky was a clear blue color, and the sun was still shining on its way to the horizon. Almost as if in a trance, she reached up to touch her face. Only then did she feel the trail of her own shed tears down her cheeks.

* * *

Seated at the dining table in the warm kitchen of François' home, Aurora couldn't help but be at ease. Her hair was fully visible as she had taken off her beanie at the front door. The copper blonde locks fell in gentle waves to the middle of her shoulder blades with even more hair framing her face. She was still sniffing a little bit, but her tears were dried up. Luuk was outside with Aurora's and Vivian's teams to eat dinner as they couldn't all fit in François' big kitchen room.

Aurora's Pokémon had refused to leave their Trainer all alone with two other Humans that most of them didn't know, so Leafeon had volunteered to stay with Aurora. The blue egg had been placed on a soft cushion in the corner of the kitchen where François had put other eggs that close to hatching. Vivian's Mime Jr. was playing on the ground next to his trainer's chair. François was busying himself with making dinner, and Viv had gone outside to check on the Pokémon after setting the table.

"Aurora, could you put the bread on the table, please?" François was still stirring in the soup and looking out the window to keep an eye on the foreign Pokémon that were on his territory. Aurora stood up to grab the bread basket that François pointed at. When she had curled her fingers around the basket, a hand was placed on top of hers. She looked up at François, who was smiling reassuringly at the red-haired girl. She gave a small smile back and went to the table after he had let go of her.

Vivian returned and all that was heard during dinner were the blonde's compliments of François' ability to cook without the food coming out burned or overcooked while simultaneously undercooked. Aurora had to shudder at that, remembering the blonde's skills at cooking on the road in Kalos. They were lacking, to say the least. Aurora could only hope Viv had gotten better at cooking, otherwise she was going to be burdened with the task of getting firewood a lot on this trip, to make sure she did not even come close to the cooking pot.

After dinner was over, the three of them sat around the dinner table with a cup of tea. Aurora's Leafeon, knowing his Trainer was going to do something that would upset her, jumped on her lap and made a rumbling sound to comfort his Human. He stretched out across her lap and when she started petting him, he just closed his soft brown eyes and waited.

Aurora was nervous and she really didn't want to start talking, so she started fidgeting with her cup of tea. Vivian was getting agitated from the silence Aurora was keeping but kept her own because she had already made the error to misjudge her friend's behavior earlier in the day.

It was François once again who took the first step into uncovering what was haunting Aurora to the point she got frozen in terror from just seeing his Pack running towards her. "Aurora, what was it about my Pack that was scaring you?"

Aurora whipped up her head to look at François, looking straight in his eyes to judge his intentions. Seeing nothing but concern and kindness in his eyes, she lowered her gaze at the cup of tea in her hand. "The Houndoom and the Arcanine," she answered after a short moment of silence. Since she refused to look at the other two who were seated at the table, Aurora missed Vivian's brown eyes widening in recognition of what Aurora had said.

"I understand the Houndoom, but the Arcanine? What happened with an Arcanine that made you so afraid of them?" The other girl couldn't keep her questions in and just let them spill out of her mouth. She got a look from Aurora after she had asked her second question that told her to keep her mouth shut if she wanted any answers from Aurora.

"Truth to be told, François, I think you already have an idea why I am afraid of your Arcanine, don't you?" Seeing him nod, she continued quickly: "But the reason I was really frozen from terror are the Houndoom in your Pack. When I was in Johto, another Pack of Houndoom indirectly almost crippled me." At this Vivian jumped up with the intention to embrace Aurora, but her friend cringed away.

"You know of the mentioned incident already, Viv, but I never told anyone how bad it really was." The chocolate eyes of the girl started tearing up; she remembered the call she had gotten after the incident. Aurora had called from the Cianwood Hospital to say she had fallen into a hole while exploring the Safari Zone in Johto and that she wouldn't be able to travel for a week or two as a result.

"How much worse could it have been? You couldn't travel for two weeks after that incident!" Vivian's voice had steadily gotten louder as she processed what Aurora had truly said. Leafeon was startled by the sheer volume that came from the lavender girl and started growling from his place on Aurora's lap. Aurora kept stroking the Eeveelution until he gradually calmed down.

"That was after a week I had already spent confined to the Hospital. Let me tell the story from the beginning." Aurora looked like she just wanted to get away, but she squared her shoulders and told the two listeners of her tale in Johto.

"I was sightseeing after I got my fifth gym badge in Johto. Chuck, the Gym Leader of Cianwood City, had recommended the newly opened Safari Zone to me and I decided to take a look. When I entered, the staff asked me if I wanted to look for Pokémon to catch while being in the Safari Zone. I decided that it couldn't hurt to see if there were any Pokémon who could catch my eye, so I agreed. As part of the rules to protect the Pokémon currently in the Zone, they keep your Pokémon safe for you at the entrance under Nurse Joy's watchful eyes." Aurora took a sip from her steadily cooling tea before she continued her story.

"I went to the Safari Zone in the early morning, so I would have enough time to check out most of the park. Most of the morning was great; I saw so many Pokémon just being themselves in the wild, unafraid of Trainers and the catch drift that we all have. But around 10 AM I had wandered in the territory of a Houndoom Pack where the pups were just born. As soon as I realized this, I backtracked my way out of there. Unfortunately, there was another Trainer who apparently had made his way into their Den and as a result they chased him out, only for them to lose sight of him and catch me still in their territory, resulting in them chasing me."

François could only imagine what it must have looked like. An already aggravated pack of Houndoom chasing an intruder from their territory, only to lose him and then finding another unwanted Human presence within the boundaries of the Pack grounds. They must have been pissed off at the time and weren't thinking clearly anymore, resulting in a chase more severe than strictly necessary.

"I had almost passed the boundaries when I heard the Pack running after me. They were absolutely furious and I could tell that if I didn't run, I would be attacked quite… fiercely." At this, both Vivian and François winced at the implications that understatement had. She would have been torn to shreds if she had been caught by a Pack that furious.

Oblivious to her listeners, Aurora continued her tale, now fully back into her memories. "I ran as fast as I possibly could, but they were steadily gaining on me. I looked back once to see how much space there still was between us when suddenly the ground underneath me gave out. I had ran into a dried out natural well with unstable walls. I fell and must have slammed with my head against something, because when I came to, the wounds on my legs and back had already mostly stopped bleeding by that time." Aurora noticed that it became easier to talk about it the more she let spill out of her mouth, but knew that there were questions that needed to be addressed before she could let the rest of the story follow.

"You were unconscious after falling in a well? How bad were those wounds exactly?" A voice trembling with emotion came from the other side of the table. Vivian couldn't believe it. What if Aurora had fallen differently or hadn't been fast enough to outrun the Pack for that amount of time?

"I was. The wounds on my legs were the worst; they tore into the muscle and were well on their way to getting infected, and I had gotten a hairline fracture from the stress that was placed on my right leg when I hit the ground, according to the paramedics. I had a concussion and the wounds on my back were only just deep enough to scar. Luckily, those were not infected, but sometimes, especially in cold weather, the scars I got then still bother me." Aurora sighed, thinking back on all that drained her energy big time, no matter that she also felt better. She raked a hand through her hair before placing it back down to stroke Leafeon.

"After ten hours of being in pain and of being scared to death that the whole thing would just collapse into itself, a Metang rescued me from my own personal hell and he drew the attention from the Safari Rangers. After that, I was brought to the Cianwood Hospital and held there for a week. A single Houndoom doesn't invoke much fear but multiple? They scare me to death." The hardest part was out and open.

"As for my fear of Arcanine, I must admit that is a recent development, but it looks like it won't be as bad as the Houndoom scare." She gave a small, tired smile to François, who had already figured out what had happened in that regard.

"You are the runner-up from the Sinnoh Conference, aren't you?" Seeing her nod, François pushed on. "I heard that in the last round the runner-up was hit with the Flamethrower attack of the opposing Arcanine, true?" Aurora nodded again in response to the facts.

"You were hit by the attack on your left shoulder, but if it wasn't for the protector laying on your lap, you would have been burned on a much larger area. That attack wasn't accidental, was it?" François knew he had hit the nail on the head when he saw her hand clench around her teacup and completely stilling her movements.

"It might have been an accident, but I am not sure. The Arcanine was aiming in my direction, but I have absolutely no idea why. That is the big question, isn't it? If it wasn't for Leafeon, I would still be in the hospital recovering from that attack, not sitting here drinking tea with you two. As it is, I have to live with yet another scar." Vivian interrupted Aurora when she heard about yet another scar.

"Another scar? I thought the League said it was just a first-degree burn, because of the heat exposure of the attack?" At this Aurora gave a dry chuckle while shaking her head at her friend's confused face.

"That is just the cover story. In order to not look bad as an organization, the League covered most of the incident up, the best they could at least." Aurora raised a hand to her left shoulder and pulled up her sleeve. Underneath, a bandage was seen still wrapped around her upper arm.

"The burn is still healing as it was a second-degree partial thickness burn and mine was borderline third degree. At least that is what the doctor said when he inspected it. It should be completely healed in another two weeks." She let her sleeve slide back down and stared at the companions.

"That battle damaged a lot: from my way of thinking and self-esteem, to the bonds with my Pokémon and my own body. It hurts even after a month." Aurora couldn't get up with Leafeon still lying firmly on her, so she just continued to speak.

"But it doesn't hurt as much anymore after today. After battling with Hunter, I realized that I shouldn't doubt myself. If I wasn't a good Trainer, I would never be able to reach the finals of a League conference, especially not on my second run. I just need to face my other fears. I cannot freeze up again if I need to face another Arcanine or multiple Houndoom while I am battling against a Trainer or in the wild. Will you help me to do that?" Aurora had that determined look on her face again.

François nodded his consent, but Vivian was still hesitant. "Aurora, are you sure you want to do this? And that you are up for it?" She had to be sure that her best friend would be alright, but not at the cost of her health.

"I am, Viv." Aurora was already dreading the next day, but she wouldn't back out now.

* * *

The next day, François introduced Aurora to the youngest Houndour of the Pack. At just three months old the Houndour was a bundle of energy. Curious and happy, he sniffed Aurora once before demanding she would play with him. Aurora laughed and gave in within seconds; the little pup was just way too cute to say no to. Soon, they were playing in the clearing just outside François' kitchen.

One by one, the other Houndour pups came to greet the Human that carried the sweet floral scent of jasmine flowers. Soon, a few of the stronger pups started roughhousing with each other and the ones who lost went to the nice Human and would get a belly rub from her if they looked at her with their puppy eyes. This attracted the attention from the Growlithe pups who came to get their own share of the new Human's attention. Vivian had to join eventually since Aurora was getting overrun by the playful pups.

François was happy with the progress that was made in the hours that Aurora was playing with the pups, as most of her fear of them seemed to have dissipated by the time that noon rolled around. It was early in the afternoon when the pups finally got tired and started to slowly drag their tired paws to their respective Dens to take a nap.

The Vulpix kits were coming out to play in the clearing under the watchful eyes of their parents, but only after all the other pups had left. The young foxes didn't like to play with the other pups since they were too rough.

Aurora still was being pestered by the first Houndour, who wanted to play a little more but was too tired to really keep his eyes open. François picked the pup up and gestured to Aurora to follow him. Curious to see what he wanted, Aurora followed him. Soon it became clear that they were going to the Houndoom Dens.

Aurora stopped walking briefly after realizing that she once again was going to be in the territory of a Houndoom Pack and then steeled herself to go on. She would get over this stupid fear of hers and come out better on the other side. But she would stick closely to François for the time being.

When the two Humans walked into the Den, the Houndoom looked up to see who came into their place but as soon as they saw their Alpha, they went back to what they had been doing. While Aurora stayed close to François, she did manage to relax a little bit in the presence of the strong looking Houndoom. Delivering the pup back to his mother, Aurora approached the motherly Houndoom, Farah, to give the pup a last pet before she went back with François to the house.

* * *

"How is it that you have all those Ninetales and Arcanine, François? I thought that Evolutionary stones were incredibly rare in Hoenn." Aurora had pondered this over for a while before she just decided to ask him about it.

"I have two Fire Stones that I bought in Kanto before I even went to Kalos, and in Kalos they are also sold in Luminose City at the Stone Emporium." François was amused by the changes in Aurora's behavior after a few hours being around the Pokémon that had scared her immensely before and his amusement was clear to hear in his voice. She, in turn, just gave him an unamused look back before bursting into laughter together with Vivian, who had seen the exchange between her friends.

"What I meant, François, is that I know you have a finite amount of stones, yet you have more than six times the amount of Pokémon who evolve with them. How does that work?" Aurora laid on her back in the grassy clearing with her own Vulpix and Leafeon lying curled up to her sides. François' Leafeon Sigmund draped himself over Aurora's legs, making himself comfortable at the expense of Aurora's ability to stand up. The girl covered by Leafeon just giggled at the fact that apparently the three Pokémon thought that she made a good pillow.

François thought about the question Aurora had asked. "The best answer I have is that when an Evolutionary stone is used to evolve a Pokémon, it uses energy that is stored up inside of the stone. In the case of a Fire Stone, it uses condensed Fire energy that is gathered from Pokémon of their respective Type, like Water energy for a Water Stone and Electric energy for a Thunder Stone. And that all the way round with every kind of Evolutionary Stones." Finishing his explanation, he looked at the girl lying on the grass. He wasn't surprised when she was looking to be thinking about something else. "It is just a theory of mine but..."

"It makes sense in a weird way." Aurora finished for him, grinning when she saw his baffled face and added a bit of her own theory to it. "I think that you are right that some of the Stones work that way with recharging but what about a Shiny Stone or a Dusk Stone? How do they recharge when they have been used to evolve a Pokémon?" François thought about it but couldn't find a suitable answer to that question. He suddenly spied something in Aurora's eyes that told him she wasn't telling everything she knew.

Vivian was the first to ask the question that was on both of her mind and that of François. "Why did you ask about the Shiny and Dusk Stones Aurora? You have one of them?" Aurora just smiled a serene smile as she answered her friend's question.

"I do, but I don't think it will be useful for me at all." She smiled and waited until Vivian asked the next question. "Which one do you have, Aura?"

"Why don't you look in my pack Viv? It is in the front part of my bag. It should be easy to find." The blonde cast a suspicious look at her friend but walked inside nonetheless to retrieve what Aurora had asked her to do.

"I suggest you cover your ears, Alpha, before she finds it." Aurora covered her own ears while François was looking bewildered at her. After seconds, a loud cheer rang out from the house and François recoiled from the sheer volume that the blonde managed to produce, even while she was inside. The girl ran out with a stone and a box in her hands. The stone fitted in her hand perfectly and was shining with an inner light, and the box was a soft green color. She jumped on Aurora who let out a grunt as the air was forced from her lungs. The Pokémon surrounding her had wisely scattered as soon as they had heard the scream and found another place to nap in the sun.

"You found a Shiny Stone for me?" Vivian's breathless voice came out, her emerald eyes shining almost as bright as the Stone itself did. Aurora was wheezing to try and get the air back in her lungs, so all she did was giving a nod in response to her friend.

"I got this for you, so just take it." At this Vivian shoved the box she had taken from inside in Aurora's hands as she stood up and finally got of Aurora, who took a grateful breath of fresh air.

After Aurora managed to get enough air in her lungs, she looked at the box the blonde had more or less shoved into her hands. She admired the green color briefly, before opening the box.

Inside on a wad of plush, laid a silver-colored necklace with two dog tags attached to it. As Aurora slowly removed the chain from the box, the dog tags softly clanked together. Aurora inspected engraving of the dog tags: one held the image of a Banette and the other of a Metagross. The redhead started tearing up again at the thoughtful present her best friend had given her. She absolutely loved it.

"Put it on, Aura." She encouraged the other girl, knowing that the present was well received by her friend. As Aurora put the necklace on, she smiled at the item in her own hand. She had been looking for this thing for a long time and now she finally had it for when the time was right.

Suddenly François' attention was grabbed by one of his Poochyena who came running from the front of the Breeding center to get him. He smiled at the two girls. "I might have a customer. Are you willing to see the process of them picking out a Pokémon?"

Aurora and Vivian didn't think twice about it and ran after him when he walked to the front.

* * *

"Hi, welcome to Red Coast Grounds. I am François Milton. Are you here to look for a Pokémon?" François was in full Alpha capacity as he took in the person standing in front of him in the hallway of Red Coast Grounds.

The man was just slightly taller than François was and was wearing a black shirt with yellow cuffs and collar. Red pants that reached just above the ankles and black shoes to finish off the look. Red eyes were looking straight into François' gray eyes and the man's red hair was nothing more than a tuft on his head.

A smile was gracing the man's face as he greeted François.

"Good afternoon! I heard that you are a Breeder of Canine Pokémon and was wondering if you have a Poochyena?" François gave the man a polite smile. The girls behind him apparently found this funny as they started giggling at him.

"I do, actually. What is the occasion, mister?" The man laughed sheepishly realizing he hadn't introduced himself yet.

"Sorry, I get distracted sometimes. I am Sidney and I specialize in Dark-type Pokémon."

Sidney snuck a glance at the giggling girls and saw that the one with the beanie had stopped laughing and instead was studying him now. He raised an eyebrow at the girl; he could have sworn he had seen her before somewhere. His attention was then pulled back to the Breeder as François asked him a question.

"Why would you want a Poochyena when you already have a Mightyena on your team?" François recognized him as a member of the Elite Four. Remembering that Sidney had a Mightyena, François was curious about the reason that Sidney could possibly have to acquire a Pokémon he already had. Sidney's eyes sparkled as he gave his answer to François.

"After twenty years of hard work, it is time for him to retire. Truth to be told, I can't imagine my team without one so I came here to see if I could find a worthy successor for Mightyena." François could not sense any dishonesty coming from the red-haired man in front of him and thus decided to take the man to the Mightyena Den in front of the house.

"If you will follow me, Sidney, we will go to the Mightyena Den to see if we can find a Poochyena for you." With a smirk, Sidney followed after the Breeder and the girls who had already run to the Den when they heard what kind of Pokémon he wanted to see.

Arriving there, the two girls that Sidney had seen in the hallway of the Breeding Center had already roused the Poochyena. The small gray Pokémon had exhausted themselves with a game of chase earlier in the morning and had been napping when the girls arrived at the Den. The Pokémon were as excited as they could possibly be because one of them might have a new Trainer at the end of the day.

Sidney was curious about the girls and asked François if they were his assistants or something.

François just laughed.

"There is no way that those two would ever work for me. No, the blonde girl is a dear friend of mine, who has been offered a chance to be placed amongst the Hoenn Gym Leaders. Her name is Vivian Rosenfeld and she trains Fairy-Type Pokémon."

François smiled fondly at the girl with the emerald eyes. Sidney immediately knew what happened there: the poor dude had a crush on the blonde Trainer with the braid, and man, did he have it bad. Sidney couldn't help himself and made a sound that sounded like a cross-over between coughing and laughing, but the Breeder wasn't paying him any attention. As soon as Sidney got his laughing under control, he asked the question that had been on his mind for a while.

"And the other girl, the one with the beanie? I can swear I have seen her before somewhere, but I can't remember where." Sidney was confused as he was raking through his brain to find the answer to his own question. As he looked to François, Sidney was surprised by the guarded stance the Breeder had taken.

"That is a childhood friend of Vivian's: Aurora Lockwood. Aurora is a League Trainer and has competed in multiple Conferences, including the Lily-of-the-Valley Conference just over a month ago." Sidney could sense that there was more to the story but made the decision to ask the girl herself about it. Besides, it could be that he had seen her on the Television when they broadcasted the Sinnoh League.

Knowing each Breeder had his own way of seeing what Pokémon was suited for a Trainer, Sidney decided to wait for François to explain his method. The Breeder just looked at him and gestured for Sidney to take a seat somewhere. "Just wait, if a Poochyena comes to you, it is likely that it is the right one for you." François felt embarrassed that he had forgotten that yesterday with the incident that happened then. Like Viane and Aurora had said: A strong Trainer is not always the right Trainer. And neither was it the case with Pokémon.

Sidney took a seat on the ground and watched the Poochyena play with each other and the blonde chick - Vivian was her name, right? A shriek was heard and a Poochyena was running straight to him with Aurora's green beanie in his mouth. The Poochyena hid behind Sidney, softly growling as Sidney tried to take the beanie away from him. The male trainer received help when Aurora involved herself, and less than a minute later, she had her beanie back. Sidney took one look at her and he finally recognized her when he saw her copper red hair in combination with her teal eyes.

The runner-up from the Sinnoh League. The one who had dared to compete with only five Pokémon. The one who had fought bravely until the bitter end, only to lose to a dirty trick.

Aurora could feel Sidney staring at her. The moment she tried to snap at him for staring, he interrupted her.

"You were the runner-up? From the Sinnoh Tournament, I mean." Sidney watched the face of the female Trainer and saw her eyes firing up to give him a piece of her mind. Apparently, it was a sore spot for her. Not that he blamed her.

"You were awesome in the finals. You had a look in your eyes that I haven't seen in a Challenger of the Hoenn League in a long time, not even in that of your opponent."

Aurora was taken aback by his comments and the wistful look in his red eyes.

"Are you competing in the Hoenn League, Shorty?" Aurora was miffed at the comment Sidney made about her height, but let it go this time, in favor of answering his question.

"I don't know yet. After what happened at Lily of the Valley Island, I don't know if I still want to compete in the League." Aurora had a sad look on her face as she focused on Vivian and François who were getting buried in Poochyena and Mightyena alike. Sidney nodded and decided to impart some advice to the girl sitting beside him.

"You should." Aurora gave him a confused gaze as she listened to him.

"You are a very talented Trainer. You managed to overpower your opponent in the finals on no less than four occasions. You were able to outsmart him and modify strategies on the fly to fit them into battle. If you stop now because of one setback, you'll leave a void behind in your heart that can't be filled."

Aurora's eyes had grown wide. What the heck had Sidney smoked before coming here? But somewhere inside she knew that he was right. Battling was what she had lived for in the years since she had become a trainer. And if she was going to stop, what would she do then?

"Besides that, I want to have a battle with you, Shorty, but only if you manage to reach the finals of the Evergrande Conference." Aurora gave him a lovely smirk and stuck out her hand to him.

"If I win, you cannot call me Shorty anymore." Sidney laughed and gave her a smirk of his own.

"Deal."

* * *

Aurora sat outside that night, gazing at the millions of stars that graced the night sky above her head. Her egg was on her lap and was now noticeably glowing in regular intervals. As she looked at the moon she felt completely at peace. She had a goal for now.

Even if she had been here in Hoenn only a few days, she felt like she was where she belonged. She didn't want to leave again to another region, or worse, back home to Snowbelle. Her mother had wanted her to take over the Berry Farm, but something in Aurora told her that it was not the way to go for her.

She was reminded of the quiet strength Sidney had seemed to possess and she wished that, maybe one day, she could have the same strength. To be strong enough to join the Elite Four. Her eyes opened to their fullest extent. Maybe she had known what her dream had been all along, had always known what it was, but hadn't been able to see it clearly, until now.

As she tightened her arms around the blue egg, she had a look of determination on her face. She was going to show to the world that she was strong enough to join the Elite Four or even to be a Champion. She was going to show them that she did have what it took to stand out.

Suddenly her egg glowed the brightest it had ever done and broke apart. Coming out of the broken egg was a blue and black canine-like Pokémon that Aurora recognized as a Riolu. Giving the Pokémon a loving smile, all she said was:

"Welcome to the Team, Riolu."

* * *

2-4-2016


	4. Chapter 3: Preparations

**Chapter 3:** Preparations

Vivian woke up to a room devoid of any other human presence. Her Sylveon and Mime Jr were sleeping on her bed, making soft breathing sounds and small movements or in the case of Mime Jr. twitches as they were still deep in dreamland. The blonde left her warm bed in search of her missing companion. Still in her sleepwear, she padded softly to the kitchen on bare feet to see if Aurora was there.

When she arrived, Vivian saw François sitting in the kitchen with Sigmund the Leafeon and one of Luuk and Elsje's pups. Quietly sipping from his cup of coffee, François smiled at her and it seemed like a lot of weight had fallen from his shoulders. She wanted to ask him what he was smiling about when she noticed sounds coming from outside the kitchen. She gave François a confused look. It only made his smile a lot wider as he gestured her to go outside through the kitchen. Her curiosity won from her desire to ask François some questions.

Slowly, she opened the door and shivered when she felt the cool air on her exposed skin. Vivian saw the sun steadily rising up in the sky and it was starting to warm the world up to prepare it for another day. She walked to the middle of the large clearing and closed her eyes to inhale deeply. She could smell the grass, the trees, flowers, and the ocean half a mile away. Tranquility in its finest form. Vivian just couldn't get enough of the peaceful feeling it gave her, taking in all that she could. Nothing was wrong and nothing could go wrong today; this she knew.

Feet could be heard running towards her location in the clearing. The blonde girl turned in the direction of the sound and concentrated a little harder. She could make out soft yips and laughter coming from the trees that surrounded François' home. The sound of footsteps was steadily growing louder as the source of the excitement was coming closer to where she stood.

Aurora burst out of the trees with her Leafeon and Vulpix following her on the heels, yipping their excitement to the heavens. Banette was shadow diving behind them, jumping from one shadow to the other. Metang was floating a couple of paces behind the girl and the foxes as not to interfere with the run, making sure that no one could attack them from the rear. A Pokémon that Vivian hadn't seen before was slithering through the trees roots. Showing off the flexibility of her strong, snake-like body, Milotic made her own way back to the clearing. Vivian could make out a blue-and-black Pokémon on sitting Aurora's shoulder.

Aurora had not expected Vivian to be up and about when she came back from a run with her team. In their younger years, her friend hadn't exactly been a morning person. Aurora certainly did not expect her to be standing outside in just her nightclothes. Granted, they covered more than Aurora's own nightclothes did, but Vivian's vanity normally wouldn't let her leave the confines of her bedroom without looking perfectly ready for the day. To be truthful, Aurora didn't like mornings either but she was so excited by Riolu hatching from his egg the night before that she couldn't sleep anymore after she had been woken by the sun's early rays.

So she skidded to a narrow stop just before she bowled over the taller girl. Breathing a little faster than normal Aurora said a happy good morning to the blonde. As the copper blonde had forgone her over-shirt and beanie, her bandage on her arm and her hair were fully visible anyone who wanted to see them. A green ribbon held the heavy copper blonde locks tamed into a high ponytail and left her usual bangs to frame her open, beaming face. Vivian's heart was beating fast with a hopeful rhythm; this was the Aurora she remembered from her childhood, the one who shone with determination, who didn't know the meaning of the word combination of to give up. The girl who had shown up at Slateport Harbor was at best just a pale impression of the girl Vivian had known for the most part of her life.

Aurora laughed as she saw Viv's hopeful look, misinterpreting it as a sigh that the girl was hoping she would make breakfast. Aurora was good at cooking after she had taken over the job from her mother when she had been injured and from years of being on the road on her own. Breakfast, however, was her specialty. "Alright, I'll make breakfast today, provided François allows me to make use of his kitchen." She started laughing even harder after Vivian immediately zipped inside to ask François for his consent.

"All right, you guys, I'll be back shortly with your food. Just stay in the clearing for a while," Aurora smiled at her Pokémon, who were now playing in the clearing or just laying down to catch their breath. Hearing their agreement, she headed inside with Riolu firmly seated on her shoulder.

* * *

"Does she have the same skills as you, Viane? If so, I am not going to risk my kitchen again." François was scowling at the girl standing in front of him, but her pleading, brown eyes were making it hard for him to stand his ground. Not even averting his gaze made it easier for him to withstand her.

Still standing at the door, Aurora was shaking hard with the laughter she was trying to hold in. She slapped her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound. Her little Riolu found it funny as well, as he started to mimic her actions.

In the meantime, François had dared to look at Vivian. Her eyes had started to tear up a little enhancing the pleading look she had. François caved quickly after that. She was ecstatic and started jumping up and down in sheer happiness. Noticing Aurora standing in the door opening, Vivian skipped over to her and gave her the puppy eyes.

"Fine, Viv. I will make pancakes, you still like Razz Berries?" The addressed girl gave a happy nod and Aurora went to the room she and Vivian shared for the duration that they were going to stay with François. Aurora reappeared a minute or so later with her Berry Case, now fully dressed. Her beanie was covering her hair again and the green over shirt hid the bandages on her arm. François was looking at the girl with a curious glint in his deep gray eyes. She just smiled back at him with a hint of mischievous delight.

"Do you have a favorite berry, Alpha? Or would you like to be surprised?" Aurora's teal eyes sparkled and betrayed the playful mood of their owner. She began inspecting the contents of the Berry Case in case some of the berries had gone bad in the time she hadn't opened the box. Riolu had been let down on the floor and was introducing himself to Sigmund next to François' chair. The Growlithe pup had made its way outside when Vivian had opened the door to go back inside.

François didn't understand the need for Aurora calling him Alpha. In fact, it bothered him quite a bit as it felt like she was making fun of him but knew picking a fight with Viane's friend wasn't the way to go. He just sighed and, at last, replied to the girl's question. "I like Belue berries."

The girl nodded and turned to Vivian. "Would you get the small metal box that is in my pack for me, please? I am afraid that the Belue berries are in my other case." Vivian smiled and ran off to get the box for Aurora in her eagerness to get breakfast. Aurora shouted after her:

"And change into your day clothes, it's almost 8 in the morning for Arceus' sake!" A laugh came from the direction of the room the girl bunked in. Aurora shook her head with a smile and started pulling out the necessary ingredients from their places to make her famed pancakes with. François made good use of the fact that Vivian was not in the room anymore.

"Why do you call me Alpha all the time?" François' voice was mostly curiosity but held a slight edge of frustration to it. Aurora seemed to not have heard his question as she was still working on the batter and cutting up some Razz and Pecha berries. Just as François wanted to ask again, Aurora asked her own question to him. Softly stirring the batter, she was completely at peace with what she was doing.

"You are the Alpha of the Von Rotterkuste Pack. That is your title, is it not?" François didn't expect Aurora to ask that of all things but gave a grumble to indicate that she was right with her observations. She turned to him to give him a serene smile. She knelt briefly to take a look at what Riolu was doing, before going back to preparing breakfast.

"I cannot call you Mr. Milton; it would upset Viv, to say the least, and I do not feel comfortable with calling you just François. That leaves one thing that I can call you while still showing respect to you and that is Alpha." She gave him a disarming smile and put the pan on the furnace.

"So it is not a stupid nickname that you gave me because you were miffed at me?" François had not thought that this scenario would occur if he was truthful with himself. Aurora laughed to herself and shook her head. The only indication that she was laughing at all were her shaking shoulders.

"It started out as one, to be honest, Alpha. When I met you at the docks, I was not in a good place at all. I was angry and hurt. You were not helping with your flirting with Viv. I kept my silence when you and Viv didn't even consult me about where I was going to stay and then you insulted me at the same time. I was really miffed when I fought that idiot Hunter and you were acting like I couldn't take care of myself."

The more she spoke, the more bitter her voice sounded. She wasn't happy with her actions towards the male Breeder, but she wouldn't change a single thing. Her actions as a whole had earned her his respect. François' respect needed to be earned, otherwise, it didn't mean a thing and Aurora had known it from the start. She could see it in the manner he addressed her and how he had acted the day before.

François chuckled; Aurora was acting like he had committed a crime against her when all he had done was worry about her well-being and taking control for a little. He sobered up when he realized that to her, it was a hurtful thing to do. She had been forced to be independent from a young age and had taken care of herself for five years. Before that, she had taken care of her mother's business and her younger sister. In fact, he had insulted her the day they first met, by making all the decisions and taking control of her life.

"I'm sorry, Aurora. I did not mean to insult you by making the decisions for you. I was worried about you; from what I had heard from Viane you weren't doing well and seeing you in that state in the harbor confirmed that fact." He waited for Aurora's response, knowing that she needed to hear the apology from him in order for them to be real friends.

"Your apologies are accepted and I forgive you for it." François let out a breath even he didn't know he had held in. At that moment, Vivian walked back in the kitchen with the requested box in her hands and finally fully clothed. Sylveon and Mime Jr. were following her on the heels as they were finally awake to do so. Noticing Riolu and Sigmund, they went over to introduce themselves to the other Pokémon.

"Here is the box you requested, Aura, but I don't think this is a Berry case." The girl was suitably confused about the metal contraption of which her friend claimed that another berry case was in it. Aurora smiled and once again shook her head at her friend, Riolu was mimicking her again so he was shaking his head at his mother's friend too, earning him an annoyed look from the girl with the braid.

"No, Viv. This is a Dimensional Travel Storage or better known as a DTS. My other Berry case is stored in here." Aurora smiled at Vivian and knew she would have to give an explanation to her. It seemed as if François had not heard of it either if the redhead had to go by the puzzled look on his face.

"You know of the principles of the Pokémon Storage Box System, right? The Pokémon is sent through the Transfer System to the destination in data form and is later reformed as the Poké Ball leaves the Transfer System." Aurora got dual nods from Vivian and François.

"The DTS uses the same principles to store an inanimate object in data form, but it keeps it that way. There are several sizes ranging from 50 Kg to 1000kg. This one is capable of storing around 200 Kg if I remember correctly. They are expensive as hell, but, oh, so worth it if you are on the road as much as I am. Besides, they aren't advertised to the general public." Aurora finished the rather simple explanation.

She grabbed the DTS and opened it up, showing her friends the inside. A small display screen with two direction arrows pointing to the left and the right and two buttons to either store or take out the item from the DTS was on the opposite side of the lid and Aurora quickly activated the DTS by pressing the takeout button three times. She skipped over the camping gear to take out her other Berry case, this one was much bigger. As it materialized next to the DTS, Vivian had to ask a question.

"You said that they are quite expensive and not for the general public, so how come you have one, Aura?" The blonde had a feeling that the answer she would get wasn't one she would necessary like.

"It was given to me as compensation by the Johto Branch of the Safari Zone. The director said that the accident I had gotten myself in should never have happened and that they should have been looking for me after a few hours of no communication. They shouldn't have waited until a wild Pokémon of all things drew their attention. They even paid for the hospital costs and my ticket back to Olivine City." Aurora gave a pained grin at remembering the specifics as to how she got the DTS.

She was right; she didn't like the answer at all but then a plate full of Razz Berry pancakes was set on the table. Vivian didn't waste any time and sat down to devour the plate of delicious pancakes. Aurora had gotten the berries she needed from the case and had put it back in the DTS. She was now flipping the Belue Berry Pancakes with expertise and François was almost drooling at the smell that was spreading through the kitchen. Laughing, Aurora finished up making breakfast and there was only friendly chatter after that.

* * *

After finishing breakfast and feeding the Pokémon, Aurora and Vivian left Red Coast Grounds to go shopping in Slateport City. Backpacks firmly on their backs and with Riolu sitting on Aurora's shoulder and Altaria flying through the sky, they made their way to the Slateport Market and the Poké Mart.

"So, what do we need?" Vivian looked at Aurora since she was more experienced in traveling for longer periods of time.

"Let me think a bit. I still have some medicine in the DTS, but it is running low, so that at least. I need a refill on several of my berries: Pecha, Sitrus, Oran, Leppa and Rawst berries at the bare minimum. Food for the Pokémon and ourselves, more dishes for the Pokémon food and do you have a sleeping bag or utensils and a plate?" The blonde shook her head at the question; she outgrew her previous sleeping bag a long time ago and hadn't had the chance to replace her other stuff.

Aurora was looking thoughtful. She had camping gear, her own spare outfits, cooking gear, water supply, maps of the regions… That was it.

"A map. We need a map of Hoenn, of course.'' Aurora slapped her forehead in annoyance of not thinking of it earlier. Riolu found it funny apparently, as he almost fell off her shoulder as he was laughing so hard that he lost his footing. Correcting the small canine, Aurora set him back on her shoulder and they just carried on.

They arrived at the Market after walking for half an hour through the crowd. "Alright, we need to buy the berries here and a portion of the food. It is cheaper to buy them directly from the farmers, so that is why we are here. Don't hesitate to stop if something else catches your eye, Viv. Just don't stop everywhere."

Aurora lead the way to the farmer's side of the market, Vivian was looking everywhere and squealed at the cute clothes that were on display. It became so bad that Aurora had to drag her friend away from her precious cute clothes and matching accessories. As the clock was ticking and they had more stuff to buy, Aurora made the decision to just drag Viv away from the glittery stuff to the farmer's corner.

The blonde was pouting at being dragged away from the cute stuff, but when she thought about it, she understood why Aurora had forcefully dragged her away from the stall with the cute things. They were going to set out on their Hoenn journey tomorrow and they needed to be prepared and they weren't going to finish if she wasted all her time looking at clothes and besides she did not have a place to store it anyway.

Vivian watched Aurora trying to find the best berries she could find. Of course, Aurora would know best in regards to berries and food stuff. She, on the other hand, was very familiar with the medicinal purposes of the berries, but not the uses of those that were used to cook with or how Pokémon reacted to their flavors.

She sighed; it was amazingly boring to watch Aurora shop for the stuff they needed, but there was nothing she could do about it. Altaria landed on Vivian's shoulder as if she had felt her Trainer's frustration. The bird softly hummed at her Human and nuzzled her Trainer's cheek with her head. Vivian felt the frustration leave her system and gently scratched the yellow-golden bird's head just behind her plumage.

"I'm done! That was faster than I suspected that it would go." Aurora finished looking at the produce and paid for it with a smile. She had found some Chople and Kebia berries that would prove to be useful. Riolu was looking at the Bulk berries the whole time she was comparing the berries to each other, so she had bought several of them to give to Riolu as a treat. The farmers waved her off with a big smile on their own faces, Aurora had bought a fair amount of their stock.

With Riolu nibbling on his treat, Aurora went to the spot she had last seen her friend standing. Grabbing one of the Nanab berries, she stored the other berries in her Berry Cases and approached Vivian and Altaria.

"I bring an offering to the great sunbird Altaria, for she has done me a great favor by calming her Human down when I couldn't." Aurora made a joke about it but knew the loyal bird could make her life hard if she were to do something to piss off Altaria's Trainer. The graceful bird or, as Aurora privately sometimes called her, a flying menace, apparently agreed to her bribe as Altaria nodded and started to eat her treat. It was apparently as vain as her owner.

"Are you coming to the Poké Mart? We need to get you some camping gear, the food dishes for your Pokémon, and the medicine to treat the Pokémon if we can't reach a Pokémon Center within a day's time. Not to mention a fricking map." Aurora turned to Viv directly this time, who was giggling at Aurora's behavior towards Altaria.

The two could be the best of buds one moment and in the other they were known to bicker and were often seen chasing each other through Snowbelle City for some offense that had been committed to the other. It was not well known that it was Aurora that had found the bird lying in the snowstorm that had been blowing all those years ago. The Swablu, small back then, had picked at Aurora to defend herself when the girl had tried to pick up the fluffy bird to bring her to safety. Aurora had been glad to get the Swablu to the Pokémon center and being able to wash her hands off the bird.

To Aurora's secret horror, Vivian had forged a bond with the flying menace. From that moment on the two of them shared a weird friendship that was all about the girl. No one was allowed to mess with the blonde except for them.

"Sure, let's go." Vivian was in a good mood at seeing that nothing had changed in the essence of the friendship of Aurora and Altaria. Aurora had never shown any negative feelings towards the bond that Vivian had with the bird, not even over the fact that Swablu was shiny. She had always just shrugged and had told Vivian that she just wasn't the right Trainer for Swablu. In fact, the petite girl never had an inclination to have a Flying-type Pokémon of her own, but she and Altaria were close enough that if it was necessary that Altaria would follow Aurora's orders within a heartbeat. The only thing that had bugged the teal-eyed girl was the strength of the bond.

The girls walked off to the Poké Mart, happily giggling over Riolu who had asked to be carried in the arms of his mother and was now wiggling to get back to his perch on his mom's shoulder as he could see a lot more from there, even if she was short.

* * *

"Okay, Viv, first the medicine and the map then your camping gear, the Pokémon dishes, and the Pokémon food." Aurora took charge quickly, knowing Vivian was going to spend some time to find the perfect sleeping bag. The girl was quite picky when it came to where she was sleeping on.

Altaria opted to stay outside in the sun and the girls walked inside with Riolu still on Aurora's shoulder. After greeting the store clerk, the girls walked to the racks with the medicine. Aurora picked three ten packs of Potion and Super Potion when she saw that the store had no more Hyper Potions in the racks.

"I'll go and ask if they have any more Hyper Potions in store, be right back." The blonde waved her off as she picked up a new brand of healing items to look what they were supposed to do. Aurora set down her pack next to her friend and walked back to the counter where she had seen a female clerk. After a short conversation, she was informed that they were all sold out on Hyper Potions due to a large tournament that had taken place shortly before she had arrived in Slateport City. Aurora shook her head at the information, but thanked the clerk anyway and returned to Vivian.

Vivian heard a weird melody going off in Aurora's backpack just before the owner returned and heard it herself. Aurora immediately dug into the left side compartment of her bag to reveal a watch-like thing that Aurora slapped on her left wrist and quickly pushed some buttons. The screen lit up with the image of a girl who looked a lot like Aurora. A soft feminine voice was heard shortly after.

"Hey, Rory! How are you doing?"

Aurora laughed and gave the watch a smile.

"Hi, Jenn. I'm doing better than before. My egg hatched into this little cutie on my shoulder." Aurora angled her wrist to show her Riolu to the girl on the watch. "Say hi to my sister Jenn, Rio. Jenn, this is Riolu and you know Vivian, right?"

Vivian was stunned. The young Fairy-type Trainer hadn't seen Jenn in ages. She inched closer to Aurora and saw that the girl on the screen was indeed Jenn; the resemblance the younger girl bore to Aurora was incredible. Both sported the same heart-shaped face, but Jenn's eyes were rounder, more like her father's and also his jade green eye color. Jenn was more blonde than copper, but the rest was mostly the same, Jenn wore her hair in a ponytail and had a mint green barrette to keep her bangs away from her face.

"Hello, Riolu, nice to meet cha! It's been a long time since Aurora added a new Pokémon to her team, so I know you will be amazing. Just do your best, alright?" Jenn's face on the screen gave a smile as she cocked her head slightly to the left. Riolu liked the girl on the screen and gave a happy smile back to Jenn before he buried his head in his mother's hair, still a little shy of strangers. The girl on the screen then focused her attention on Vivian.

"Hi, Bell! How are you doing? I heard from Mom and Dad that you were offered to run your own Gym in Hoenn by the Hoenn League and a new one at that. That must be amazing to even be considered for a position like yours and Dad's." Vivian stood straighter at the fact that Jenn had heard that little tidbit and was basking in the attention that Jenn was giving to her achievements.

"She was, but I think she forgets that she needs the recommendation of at least five other Gym Leaders of this region before she can take her place in the line-up." Vivian's nice bubble was burst once again by Aurora's no-nonsense attitude towards her pride. The blonde sheepishly rubbed over her shoulder.

"I always seem to forget that I'm not a Gym Leader yet, but that is why Aurora and I are going to travel through Hoenn in the first place. Other than that, I have a new Pokémon, a Sylveon. All thanks to Aurora." Jenn's eyes narrowed at the mention that Aurora had something to do with Bell's new Pokémon. Aurora intervened quickly before Jenn would be able to ask her own questions.

"Where are you now, Star?" Aurora grinned knowing Jenn hated to be called Star, even if her real first name Stella meant star.

"I am at Verdanturf Town currently, Air." Jenn was frustrated that her sister would bring up her first name again and let it be known by calling her sister the hated Air. "My middle name is Skye, not Air, and you know it, little missy." Aurora almost hissed at the watch. Riolu doing the same as his mom, hissed at the screen too, earning him a scratch behind the ear.

"I am not little. I have you know that I am 5'1", shorty." Jenn countered.

"I am still taller than you by two inches so stuff it." Vivian was astonished by the display the sisters were giving of their relationship. There was no real heat in the insults that were flying over the watch thingy, but they were creative nonetheless. "Um… Aurora."

The sisters immediately stopped their insults and both were waiting on Vivian to continue her question.

"We need to finish shopping before we set out tomorrow, even if we are taking the ferry to Petalburg City." Aurora nodded and turned back to Jenn.

"Alright, Miss Coordinator. I'll talk to you another time. Good luck on your upcoming contest and safe travels."

"Bye, Miss Veteran. I'll call if something happens." Jenn gave a short wave as the screen went black.

"What is that thing? I have heard of a watch that allows for video calls, but I can't remember its name." Vivian did like the look of the black watch with dark green accents and a black strap going around Aurora's wrist. Aurora was surprised by the fact that Vivian didn't know the name of the thing. She then remembered that the blonde had been stuck in Laverre almost all the time and didn't know of the technological innovations from Unova as they targeted the other regions first. Aurora held her wrist in the air to show her friend.

"The name is of this thing is Xtransceiver. This thing allows for videophone calls to be made with up to four persons. It also allows a Trainer to check up on their Pokémon without releasing them from their Poké Balls. I got one in Sinnoh last year after I met up with an old friend." Vivian remembered the name of the Xtransceiver. She remembered being amazed shortly when she had seen one for the first time being used, no more rows in front of the videophone anymore! But she had seen it only once and had forgotten about it until now.

"Do you have any more surprises in that bag of yours?" Viv teased Aurora but was also genuinely curious. Aurora thought about it but shook her head; she didn't think she had anything that Vivian wouldn't know off anymore.

They grabbed their stuff and walked at an easy pace towards the camping gear. There wasn't much choice in dishes, but it was more than enough to work with. After learning that the biggest Pokémon the blonde had was Sylveon, Aurora grabbed a few medium-sized dishes and walked towards Vivian who was looking at the sleeping bags.

"Have you found one yet? Or do you need some more time?" Aurora was aware that the decision-making process could take some time and would go to pick a plate, a cup, and some utensils if the other girl wasn't done yet.

"Almost done, just have to make a choice between these two." Viv pointed at a vibrant red one with a black zigzag pattern and a soft brown one with a gentle, red spiraling motive. Both of them perfectly fitted for the warm Hoenn weather. Aurora pointed at the brown one.

"I like the brown one better with the spiral, seems softer somehow." The blonde agreed with her friend and put away the examples, after grabbing a brown sleeping bag. As Vivian went to get her other stuff Aurora went back to the counter as she couldn't find where the Mart had placed the maps. Pulling the attention of a male clerk Aurora asked her question.

"Excuse me, but do you have a map of Hoenn? I can't seem to find them in the store." Aurora gave the male clerk a soft smile that had him blushing.

"W-we don't h-have them anymore I am a-afraid." The clerk fell over his own words to answer the question of the pretty girl as quickly as possible. The smile fell from Aurora's face and she sighed. There went the chance at not getting lost because they didn't know the routes and while she had a well-developed sense of direction, Vivian was not the best at figuring distances. She had once managed to get lost on a road in Snowbelle City to get to the Pokémon Center. Granted, it had been snowing that day, but still.

The clerk felt bad for the pretty girl that obviously needed the map; after all, she was a girl and they had a horrible sense of direction normally.

"Let me get this straight, you have no paper copies of a Hoenn map?" Aurora asked the clerk wanting to be absolutely clear that there were no more maps. The clerk shook his head.

"I sold the last one two hours ago." The female store clerk had overheard the conversation between her colleague and Aurora and had gone to get something from the back.

"Excuse me, Miss." Aurora looked at the other clerk, feeling a bit relieved to get away from the stares of the male on the other side of the counter. "I may have a solution for your map problem."

Now she had Aurora's undivided attention as Aurora focused on the female clerk.

"This is a PokéNav. It has several apps including a news app, a communication app, and a map app." The clerk held up a yellow device that with one push of the button, opened up and showed the Hoenn map on its screen. Aurora was ecstatic; a map of Hoenn! The rest was just a bonus.

Vivian came down with her stuff after Aurora had already purchased the medicine, the Pokémon food, and her new PokéNav. After paying for her stuff and putting it away in her bag, the girls went outside and returned to Red Coast Grounds.

* * *

François welcomed the girls back briefly and was promptly distracted as the Ninetales part of the Pack and the Mightyena had gotten in a fight. He needed to go fix it and went off with Luuk to solve the fight before it could get out of hand.

Aurora went outside to the clearing just outside the kitchen to release her Pokémon. She gestured for Vivian to do the same for her own Pokémon. Several pings went off to signify the release of multiple Pokémon.

On Aurora's side, Riolu, the small Emanation Pokémon, who was still sitting on his mom's shoulders; Metang, the big Iron clawed Pokémon, who just hovered on its place looking around to see if there were any threats to its family; Vulpix, the red, six-tailed fox, who spied the now yawning Riolu sitting on Aurora and yipped for the Riolu to be let down so it could take a nap; Leafeon, the half plant fox, who was sitting next to Vulpix and refused to lay down to help protect the small blue canine as it slept; Banette, the ghostly prankster, who was already planning a joke to play on the blonde; and Milotic, the beautiful, water snake, who immediately moved towards the other Pokémon to curl up on the grass instead of the dirt, were released.

On Vivian's side, there was a variety of Fairy-type Pokémon: Dedenne, the little hyperactive mouse who would run circles around the two girls as they traveled; Mime Jr, the small clown, who promptly fell over his own feet as soon as he was released from his Poké Ball; Floette, the little flower sprite with the red flower, who flew off to sniff some flowers; Togepi, the egg shell wearing Pokémon, who stood his ground staring at Aurora's big, Iron clawed Pokémon; Sylveon, the pink ribbon wearing fox, who sat next to Vivian and wrapped her head feelers around her Trainer's left arm; and, of course, the always present, yellow-golden Altaria, who sat in a tree close to her trainer and started humming.

The two female trainers nodded to each other and walked to the middle of the clearing. As they clasped each other's forearm, it became clear to the Pokémon that they were going to witness a promise or something like that.

"Once more, we shall travel together and this time, we will forge our own destinies." Aurora's warm and steady voice traveled through the clearing, with kind and determent teal eyes Aurora looked straight ahead into chocolate eyes.

"Promising to make our dreams come true and work to the hardest of our abilities." She responded with a soft and gentle voice, her emerald eyes shining from within.

"To an adventure of a lifetime." They finished in one voice. They held their posture for a few seconds and they burst out in laughter, their Pokémon mingling happily.

* * *

The evening fell and the two Trainers and the Breeder were once again sitting around the table; Aurora had made a nice stew for the hungry Breeder. It had taken the intervention of the Beta Female Elsje to settle the conflict between the Mightyena and the Ninetales.

Aurora found herself wanting to know more about the structure of François pack. All she knew was that François was the Alpha of the whole pack and the mated Alpha pair of the Arcanine, Luuk and Elsje, also functioned as the Beta's for the whole pack under François.

"How does the whole pack structure work in your pack, Alpha? You are, of course, the leader and the Alpha Arcanine are the Beta's, but how does the rest of your Pokémon fall in the pack structure?"

François could tell that Aurora was genuinely interested in the pack structure and it seemed that Vivian was curious about it too, so he set out to explain.

"The Arcanine are, after me, the highest in the pack ranking. Then comes Sigmund as he is the peacemaker between the individual packs and a fast traveler." Aurora knew all about how fast Leafeon could be; her Leafeon was a little speed demon himself. She and Vivian nodded; they had been able to follow it so far.

"Then comes Icara the Ninetales and her pack, she is the Leader of the Ninetales together with her mate. They are clashing with the Mightyena lately and it is starting to be a bother." François folded his arms over his chest as he thought about the situation and a possible solution. Giving up for the time, being he just continued his explanation of the Pack hierarchy.

"Farah and Imad are next in line with their pack as fourth in rank, as they are stronger than the Mightyena, who follow at the bottom of the pack." François finished his explanation with a sigh. In the meantime, Aurora had made up a theory about the aggressiveness of the Mightyena, from what she had heard and seen of the Mightyena pack was that they had the poorest fitted piece of territory. The land of the Ninetales pack would fit the Mightyena's just as well, as the Ninetales themselves.

"Could it be that the land of the Mightyena is not to their liking; maybe too small for the size of the pack or that they cannot run and chase something to their hearts content?" Aurora offered a possible explanation.

François was running this through his head. It was possible that it had to do with the initial splits he had made for the land, but the sizes were fine for the size the packs had then. He shook his head. It was getting late and the girls were setting out early in the morning to Petalburg City. He just gave Aurora a smile and let the issue drop for the time being.

* * *

Aurora was still awake late in the evening, with excitement pouring through her veins. She gazed out of the window and smiled at the moon. She turned back around to face Viv who was softly breathing with her Sylveon curled up next to her and Dedenne sleeping on top of the girl.

Riolu was sprawled completely out on her bed and Leafeon was sleeping at her feet as there was ample space due to her short size. Taking one last look at the moon, Aurora closed her eyes and fell asleep. Tomorrow would bring the end of the new journey one-day closer.

One day at the time.

* * *

2-4-2016


	5. Chapter 4: Onward to Adventure!

The fifth installment already of Delta Emerald. I can't believe all the support that's coming from you guys!

Thank you, Lurking Phoenix, for Reviewing!

Thank you, Keyblade132, for fav-ing not only this story but also the Meet the Teams!

* * *

 **Chapter 4:** Onward to Adventure!

The following morning, the girls were up way too early for their taste. Aurora was cooking breakfast for Vivian and a groggy François. However, Vivian was not in a good mood and not even the smell from Aurora's pancakes could cheer her up. The girl sighed as she recalled what happened to them before dawn.

* * *

Dedenne had been awake for the better part of an hour and had been quietly amusing himself by playing with Vivian's hair. After a while, the hyperactive mouse just couldn't hold himself back anymore and woke up Sylveon with his antics. The pink fox had tried to contain the orange mouse in order to let the others sleep, but she wasn't able to get him to quiet down. Dedenne had started jumping from bed to bed and woke up Riolu when he landed too close to the small canine Pokémon.

Riolu had not appreciated being woken so early in the morning and had attacked the menace that woke him up with a Quick Attack. Using the move's extra force to punch the electric mouse in the face, Riolu had managed to get the mouse of away from him and his mommy. The electric type had flown right into Sylveon, who gave a startled yowl at being hit by her teammate.

Aurora and Vivian woke up to the four Pokémon arguing and almost getting into a physical fight. Dedenne was producing little sparks as he was balling his little paws towards Riolu. The blue fighting type was standing there with an angry look on his own face. Obviously wanting to jump over to Viv's bed, he was caught by Aurora in the scruff of his neck. Riolu tried to get away, but his mother's gentle hold was firm enough to prevent him from escaping.

"And why are the two of you fighting?" Aurora was not amused and her voice showed it. Her Riolu hadn't heard his mom being mad yet, but Leafeon and Dedenne had heard her voice take that turn before and tried to find the nearest place to hide. Leafeon jumped over to Vivian's bed and hid behind Sylveon, who gave him a wary stare in return but allowed him to take shelter, earning her a soft lick on her cheek from Leafeon. Sylveon's cheeks heated up and she turned away from Leafeon. Dedenne tried to clamber down to the floor and hide under his trainer's temporary bed.

It was just too bad for Dedenne that the blonde had noticed that Dedenne had something to do with the fact that she had been woken up. So she grabbed the mouse before he could hide, giving him a hard stare and held him tight to her chest to make sure he didn't flee before they could hear his side of the story. She knew that if two fight, two have fault.

Aurora sat up in her bed. The sheets slid down to her waist revealing her plain black, tank top and placed Riolu firmly on her covered legs. She waited for the young Pokémon to start speaking before she would say anything else.

Riolu didn't disappoint and was making gestures to indicate what he was meaning. He had felt the mattress dip a few times and wanted to see what was causing the uncomfortable sensation. As he opened his eyes, the mouse had almost jumped upon him. Riolu hesitated before continuing his little story, his eyes averted to his feet. He admitted that he had hit the annoying mouse and had punched the mouse into Sylveon.

"Did you send Dedenne into Sylveon on purpose?" Aurora had the feeling that this wasn't planned and that Riolu felt guilty for doing it but that his anger at Dedenne had taken over. Riolu shook his head as he grabbed on to her hand that still held him in place. Why would he want to hurt the pink fox on purpose? She had done nothing wrong.

Aurora sighed and took a look at Vivian who was listening to her Dedenne. He apparently told a slightly different story. As far as Dedenne knew the hit he had been given was on purpose and so the result of him flying into the Eeveelution was also deliberately done. She turned back to Riolu and softly admonished the small Pokémon.

"You acted without thinking and in doing so, you hurt an innocent bystander. In this case, you hurt Sylveon. I am not saying that you punching Dedenne was the right thing to do, but your reaction is understandable, at least to me it is." Riolu's red eyes were tearing up a little bit; he knew it wasn't right, but he was startled and wanted the intruder to go way. Aurora proceeded, not showing that she was affected by Riolu's teary eyes.

"You are going to apologize to Sylveon for hurting her and to Dedenne for punching him." She gave a stern look when he wanted to protest to the apology to Dedenne. He was all for saying sorry to the innocent he had hurt, but he would not be the first to apologize to that annoying mouse.

"I do not care what he has done to you, Riolu. You have hurt them and that is not right. What if, when you are stronger and you throw a bigger, heavier Pokémon at Vivian? She would be in very much pain and the situation could be even worse." Riolu started to understand what his mom was truly angry about. It was not that he had punched the mouse but that he had hurt someone who had nothing to do with his fight. As he thought about it, he started to figure it out. He nodded at his mommy and started to get up.

Aurora let him go and saw him jump on the ground before asking if he would be allowed on the blonde's bed. Vivian had listened in on Aurora's conversation with her newest Pokémon and had to admit that it could've been just an unfortunate accident. She hoped that it had been just that too. She disliked the small canine but didn't think that the young Pokémon could be so cruel to do it on purpose. Seeing that he wanted to apologize, she gave him permission to get on the bed. Maybe she had judged too soon. After all, the Pokémon was still newborn and needed to learn a lot of things. Vivian did admit that it did feel good to have Aurora take her side, instead of that of her own Pokémon.

Riolu clambered on the bed of the, to him, unpleasant smelling Human. Her scent was too strong for him to enjoy. He cautiously approached Sylveon and when he stood in front of her, he felt a bit shy. Taking a look back at his mother and seeing her smile encouragingly at him, the canine Pokémon felt a bit better about saying sorry.

"Ri... lu Riolu." He apologized to Sylveon, with his voice soft and apologetic. Leafeon gave him the advice to look Sylveon in the eye and so he did. Sylveon said nothing for a few moment causing Riolu to nearly give up hope when the pink Pokémon gave him a nod and a soft yip. Being forgiven by her, he now needed to settle things with the electric rat. He turned to the mouse and also Vivian as Dedenne was still firmly placed in her lap, to settle down enough for his Human to talk to him.

He gave the same apology to the rat, albeit clear he didn't feel exactly the same about this apology. Dedenne was not in a forgiving mood but knew as his Human had said, where two fight, two have fault. So he apologized as well, grumbling and not even looking at the Riolu.

Riolu had done like his mommy wanted and jumped back on her nest. He was surprised by a soft hand that softly came down to rest upon his head and began to trace loops on the top of his head.

"I am proud of you for owning up to your faults and we are going to work on your aim, so you won't hurt anyone by accident, alright?" His mom gave him a gentle smile and Riolu nodded happily.

The bonding moment was disrupted by Vivian who had noticed how early it was. She was now softly sobbing that it was only six o'clock even after dealing with the morning shenanigans.

* * *

Indeed, not a fun way to wake and start the day. The two girls finished up breakfast and made the last checks on their inventory before they would set out. All Pokémon in the Poké Balls except for Altaria, who didn't like being confined to her Poké Ball unless it was a dire emergency, and Leafeon. François and Luuk would walk the girls to the harbor and say goodbye there, as François wanted to spend as much time as he possibly could with the golden colored blonde.

Aurora had said her goodbyes to Elsje and her pups before she left Red Coast Grounds, and Viv had been jumped by the multitude of pups who didn't want to see her go. After being rescued from under the Pokémon, they finally left Red Coast Grounds and the Von Rotterkuste Pack. The Pokémon pack howled after them to say goodbye while Elsje and Sigmund held them under control to make sure they would not leave the protected grounds.

Aurora and Vivian waved while Altaria swooped over the pack on last time before she too followed her trainer and flew above the road to Slateport City.

As they walked through Slateport, it became clear that the girls were recognized by some of the other trainers in Slateport City. The girls either got approving smiles or a glare thrown their way. Vivian became a bit nervous from all the attention that she was receiving. Sure, she had had her share of attention in Laverre City, as Valerie's deputy, but that was from people she had known for a while and not from complete strangers. She cast a glance at Aurora who had pulled a blank mask over her face, and not a single emotion was displayed. It shocked Vivian; how could Aurora stay so calm with this much attention?

Aurora turned her head to face Vivian and gave a small smile to reassure her that everything was fine. Know that the blonde was curious about her mask, Aurora mouthed just one word at her: 'Practice', and then just turned her face back to look in front of her, as if nothing happened.

The group reached the Harbor. The time had come for François and Luuk to finally say goodbye. Vivian looked like she wanted to cry. In the short time that she and Aurora had been staying with François, he had done so much for both her and Aurora, and now they needed to say goodbye.

"I'm going to miss you, France. Be sure to call us on the PokéNav, to let us know how you and the Pack are doing. And take care of yourself." Viv had grabbed the taller breeder in a hug by flinging her arms around his neck. He, in return, just placed his arms around her small back and pulled her closer, without saying a word.

Aurora was leaning against Luuk with Leafeon at her feet and Altaria was circling above in the sky. She surveyed the scene in front of her, and if she didn't know better, she would have said that the two were at least lovers. She shook her head. Why was it that she felt lonely when she saw that display of… affection, maybe? Luuk gave her a small scare when he suddenly breathed hot air in her ear. She gave him a rueful smile and petted the fearsome beast on his muzzle.

"I haven't said thank you yet, have I?" The mighty dog shook his head as a response to her question and she gave a wider smile, with her eyes sparkling. She kissed him on the muzzle before she pulled a berry out of her backpack. Luuk started to salivate at the smell and Aurora grinned at his reaction.

"This is my thank you for protecting me and being patient while I was trying to find my footing again. Thank you, Luuk, for being there when I needed you." Aurora presented a Spelon berry to Luuk and he grabbed it with care before munching on it. She giggled when the Arcanine was having no trouble with the nice spicy taste; the Spelon berry was the spiciest berry she had and knew that the mighty dog would like it.

Aurora turned back to see Vivian and François separate. She walked over to them with a sad look on her face; she was going to miss François. Instead of pulling him in a hug, the only hugs she tolerated were the ones that Viv would give her, she grasped him by his right wrist. He understood what she wanted and did the same for her. Nothing was said; all was conveyed by their eyes. Aurora's shone with thankfulness, respect, and a fierce determination. François's own deep gray eyes conveyed his proudness, confidence, and own respect for her. As they shook their hands once, Aurora opened her mouth:

"See you later, Alpha."

* * *

Aurora and Vivian had left François and Luuk at the beginning of the docks and were walking to the Ticket booth. There was no line, so the girls were helped right away by one of the attendants behind the desks.

"Good morning! Welcome to the Inter-Hoenn Ferry service. How may I help you?" The attendant asked politely.

"Ah, good morning! We would like two tickets to Petalburg Harbor, please." Vivian was the one who replied to the woman behind the desk, as Aurora got distracted by a poster that hung at the side of the counter.

"Two tickets to Petalburg. That will be 11.000 Poké Dollars, please." The attendant was amazed by the fact that the blonde didn't flinch when the prize was named. Normally, the trainers would be surprised by the prize but this girl didn't even bat an eyelash. She was handed the money and quickly set out to work and produced the tickets for the girls.

Vivian noticed Aurora frowning. "What is wrong, Aura?" Aurora snapped her head back to her and came back to stand at the blonde's side and before elaborating what was wrong.

"The ferry-line will stop running temporarily, shortly after we have arrived in Petalburg City. So we can't take the ferry to Dewford Town to get the Badge from the Dewford Town Gym there, or your Approval from the Gym Leader. That will delay our plans, by a lot." Aurora didn't like the implications of the ferry stop at all and politely asked the friendly attendant about it.

"Do you know when the ferry-line between Petalburg and Slateport will be starting up again?" The attendant hadn't been asked this before. Usually, a Trainer would just curse at her and leave. So she was happy to answer the question that the girl with the beanie had asked.

"It is not sure when the ferry-line between Petalburg City and Slateport City will start up again. Somehow the ships have gotten damaged, one after the other, and they need to be repaired. However, it will take longer than initially expected as they seem to be missing crucial parts to repair the ferries with. There will be a smaller ferry going from Dewford Town to Slateport City as a replacement for the normal line, once a week."

The attendant felt bad for the two girls, but couldn't do anything about it. The girls just looked at each other and gave a smile to the attendant. "It is fine. We will figure something out in the meantime," they assured the woman behind the desk and after Vivian had taken the tickets from the woman, they walked out of the office with a friendly wave.

* * *

"So how long is the ferry going to take?" Aurora asked the blonde who had her Altaria sitting on her head. Her bird hadn't grown out of the habit of sitting on people's heads. However, ever since evolving, Altaria had become rather heavy, and the weight hurt her neck. Vivian checked the tickets while they walked to pier 4.

"It seems that the trip will take at least a day with a very late stop in the evening to let people off at Dewford Town, so we have a cabin to sleep in tonight." Aurora nodded thoughtfully as she weaved through the throngs of people who were saying goodbye to others. Leafeon was walking close to his Trainer as not to get lost in the crowd. The two trainers found the Ferry with relative ease and after showing their tickets, they climbed on board of the ship.

Quickly finding their small cabin, the girls unloaded their backpack and went back outside. Vivian raced up to the top deck with Altaria soaring behind her, while Aurora followed at a slower pace. To Aurora's surprise, the deck had two small battlefields, which were being used by other trainers already. One field had just started while the battle on the other one was almost over. She made a note to get the other girl to battle with her either today or the next day.

Aurora saw her friend standing near the point of the ship, leaning forwards on the railing and the redhead just went to stand next to her. They hadn't talked much in the past few days about what happened to them in the past few years, because of everything that had happened in the few days Aurora had been in Hoenn. So Vivian initiated a conversation.

"I can't believe we're really going on a journey together again." Vivian's brown eyes never left her Altaria, who was flying with the Wingull and the Pelliper, as she was speaking to her friend. A soft but sad smile was gracing her face. "After being offered an apprenticeship by Valerie in Laverre City, I thought that we wouldn't be able to do this again. I missed traveling together again like this ."

Aurora gave her friend a confused stare. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you left Kalos so soon after I accepted Valerie's offer to train, that I thought you were angry at me for accepting her offer." Vivian gave a shy glance at her friend, who was staring contemplatively in the distance before Aurora turned around and leaned with her back on the railing, her arms folded over her stomach and her left foot hooked in the lower part of the railing.

"No, I was never angry at you for accepting the offer. In fact, I encouraged you to do it if I remember correctly because let's face it, Viv, I would have done the same in a heartbeat if an offer like that had come my way at that moment. But I could never commit to one type, and as such I am not qualified to be a Gym Trainer, let alone a Gym leader." Aurora's voice sounded bitter over the fact that she would never be able to climb the ranks as a Gym Leader, Vivian noted with a hint of surprise.

"In the end, it won't matter anymore if I get an offer to join a Gym now because I would never give up my Pokémon for any title or any other thing in the world. They are too dear to me to give up." Leafeon sounded a proud yip at hearing his beloved Trainer say that and rubbed against her leg.

Vivian gave a joyful grin as she saw the loving look in Aurora's unique teal eyes as her friend looked down to her Grass-type, the Eevee, which she had caught so long ago in Kalos; their bond was extremely strong. She thought back to that trip. So much had gone wrong: food had gotten burned and things were lost. In the beginning, they would travel too many hours in a day, leaving them exhausted beyond belief. Also, the number of times they lost their way was uncountable. Would she change anything about that first adventure? No, she wouldn't. Everything led her to this moment and she loved every minute of this.

"You know what, Vivi?" Vivian focused back on Aurora's voice as she felt the boat starting to move. The horn blew once loudly, and the crowd on the docks cheered and waved after the boat. Vivian just hummed to say that she had heard Aurora.

"I feel at home here in Hoenn, like this is where I am supposed to be. It is really weird, but I am more at ease here than I have ever done anywhere before in my life, not even Snowbelle. That could be my mother's fault to an extent, but it feels like more than that."

Vivian picked up the barb aimed at Aurora's mother and winced. She liked Mrs. Lockwood, but even she thought that the berry farmer should take a step back from smothering Aurora. Ever since Aurora postponed her journey in favor of keeping the Berry farm running for her mother and keeping an eye on her little sister, her mother went crazy about her precious daughter. Now all Mrs. Lockwood talked about was that Aurora should give up on being a Pokémon Trainer and come home to start a family and take over the farm. She even had some guys lined up for Aurora to take a pick from, something that Vivian found very amusing.

Aurora shuddered as she thought back to the last time she had spoken with her mother; it had not gone well to say the least. It had been just before the semi-finals of the Sinnoh Conference and Aurora had called her father to get rid of her nerves. He couldn't have been any prouder to hear that she had already made it to the semi-finals of a League Conference and he had been able to calm her down in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, her mother had overheard her dad talking to her and had shouted to her that she should give up those ridiculous dreams of being a strong trainer and get married. She wasn't getting any younger, after all. Aurora had rolled her eyes before face palming and her father had just laughed at his eldest daughter's antics. Her mother had started to yell all about the cute young men that would come through Snowbelle all year round and that had been Aurora's breaking point. She had greeted her father and hung up in the guise of having to fight right then.

Aurora felt helpless against her own mother. If it wasn't illegal to marry her off, her mother would've done it two years ago when she had called after the Johto accident.

Vivian placed a hand on Aurora's arm when she noticed that Aurora was becoming agitated by thinking about her mother.

"What did she say the last time you talked to her?" Vivian had to ask because maybe this time she would get to hear the truth. Mrs. Lockwood always skirted around the topic whenever Vivian was near.

"She told me to give up on being a trainer, as I am not getting any younger. To find someone who will provide for me, while I will be an ordinary housewife, who takes over the fricking Berry farm. It doesn't matter to her that I can't live in Snowbelle City without being in pain all my life." Aurora gave a frustrated sigh and let her arms fall to her sides to lean on the iron bars.

Vivian was astonished to hear that. From Mrs. Lockwood's side, it had sounded like Aurora was just going through her rebel phrase, that she had been complaining about nothing, and that her injuries weren't that painful, even in cold weather.

Aurora's Xtransceiver went off with a hellish-sounding tune. "Speak of the devil and she shall appear, or at least call you. I'll be right back." Aurora pushed off from her perch of the railing and went to a little more private place to take the call. Taking a place at one of the few pieces of wall on the deck, where she could still see the battles taking place, she answered the call. Her mother's face appeared on the neat, little gadget.

"Good afternoon, Mother. How can this lowly one be of your service today?" Aurora began her annoyed face already on, but her voice was completely level. Not one emotion was to be heard.

Her mother just sighed and spoke. "My dearest, I just wanted to see how you are doing. Obviously better, since you are capable of talking to me without being hostile. You used to act like a Purrloin that was driven into a corner whenever you were hurt." The dark blue eyes of her mother shone with unshed tears as she upheaved the childhood memories.

Aurora just rolled her eyes. "Let's cut to the real reason you are calling me after I have told you that I didn't want you to call me during the day at the very least. What if I was in a Gym battle or something like that?"

Mrs. Lockwood did not appreciate the tone her daughter was using even if what she said was reasonable. "Oh, please, darling. We both know you aren't going to challenge another Gym after what happened at Lily-of-the-Valley, especially after how that battle ended up." Her mother sounded smug and confident, as she went to stick the needles in even further.

"You just aren't cut out to be a trainer, sweetie."

Strike one. Aurora's eye twitched.

"You need to let go of the dreams of you being a trainer and get on with your life."

Strike two. Aurora lost the battle to keep her face from showing her emotions.

"You need to come home and find someone who can help you with the obstacles that come across your path. You can work on the farm with me. You'll be content for the rest of your life."

Protected, safe, work on that Arceus damned farm again? With her mother? Oh, hell no. Not going to happen, not now and not in the future. Strike three and the safety lid was off.

Meanwhile, Vivian watched the expressions on her friend's face in worry.

Aurora composed herself and talked to her mother with the sweetest voice she could manage.

"Oh, mother. Of course, you are right. I simply can't keep myself safe after six years of being on my own. I can't even rank second in a League Championship, I am such an incompetent Trainer. I simply can't live a life while not being under your loving, smothering wings. I can't wait to go back to Snowbelle City and live out the rest of my life in pain."

Her mother's face had gotten so hopeful at the beginning and then turned to one of hurt. However, Aurora wasn't done yet.

"I have been on my own for five years now and I am still alive and kicking. I have ranked SECOND in a League championship and my Pokémon and I have taken out four of my opponent's Pokémon in that finale. I forced him to show all six of his Pokémon where no other have been able to do so before and yet I lost. Big deal, mother. He was wrong about me and you are too. I will be a trainer until my hair turns gray and I can't stand anymore on my own two legs."

Her mother was looking like Aurora had slapped her, but Aurora just couldn't care about it anymore.

"Take it or leave it, but I am done with your condescending attitude towards MY dreams. Do not call me anymore, if anything is the matter tell dad to contact me. Goodbye." Aurora finished with tears in her eyes and she disconnected the call.

Slowly, since she lost the strength to stand on her legs, she slid down the piece of wall that she had been leaning against. She buried her face in her hands as the tears threatened to fall. Her Xtransceiver rang again with the hellish tone she had set for her mother. Aurora pressed the call away and went into the menu to her mother's contact information. Finding the right button, she blocked her mother from calling again. Taking deep breaths she started to calm down.

Her Xtransceiver rang again but this time with the march she had set as her father's ringtone. Slowly, Aurora lifted her right hand up to accept the call. On the screen her father appeared and he was clearly alarmed about what had happened.

"Hey dad." Aurora croaked out as her throat constricted painfully.

"Hey, baby girl. Your mother just came into my study and demanded my Xtransceiver, saying you have forbidden her from calling you ever again. What did she do? What happened?" Her father's voice was calm and his jade green eyes looked right into her teal ones.

"She called me incompetent and my dreams stupid. She sided with that awful excuse of a human being from Lily and then told me that I should come home to a place where I'd be in pain for the rest of my life. That she would protect me from all the horrible things in the world. That is what happened, dad. What happened to mom? Why is she hell-bent of making my life miserable?"

The tears flowed freely over her cheeks as Aurora let loose her feelings that she had been cropping up for so long.

"I do not know, Rory, but what you are telling me is enough cause to worry. Your mother hasn't been the same after her accident and when you called that you were in the hospital, she had a minor breakdown. She wanted Jenn to come home at once from the Sinnoh Region and I barely talked her out of it," her dad confided in her. She looked down, not knowing what to say.

"For now, your mother is not going to contact you if you don't want to, Rory. Everything else will come later. Enjoy your time in Hoenn and just have fun with Viv. Has your egg hatched yet?" Aurora gave her father a loving smile.

"Yeah, it turned out to be a Riolu. He is extremely cute and I have the feeling that he'll be a strong fighter once we figure out how to train him." He father nodded and smiled.

"Hold on, baby girl. Remember, I love you and no matter how crazy your mom is being, she loves you too.'' Aurora nodded and said goodbye to the father with a small wave. After sitting for a few minutes, she got up and walked back to Vivian. She needed to look forward. The past was done and over with.

* * *

Aurora and Vivian were the first ones out on the battlefield after dinner. During dinner, Aurora had offered to have a 2 vs. 2 battle with Vivian, so they could see how their new Pokémon would act in a battle. The blonde had agreed enthusiastically and they had rushed out to have their battle.

"So Riolu or Sylveon first, Aura?" Vivian called from the other side of the small field. Altaria had perched herself on the roof to prevent herself from distracting her Human and was watching the scene with interest.

Aurora pondered over it briefly before deciding on Riolu. "Let's go with Riolu first and then we'll look at Sylveon."

Vivian agreed and released her Mime Jr. on to the battle field without a sound, tossing the ball and catching it on the rebound. The small clown Pokémon started spinning in anticipation to the start of the battle, only wobbling a little.

"Shine, Riolu!" Aurora threw the ball containing Riolu with a graceful arch and just held up her hand to grab the ball as it came flying back to her. Riolu was ecstatic and started punching in the air, loosening up his muscles.

By now, a crowd had formed around the two battlefields and there where many Trainers watching the start of the battles. They weren't exactly interested in the battle of the two girls as they had thrown out little, obviously weak Pokémon. Probably coordinators, who were practicing for the Dewford Town Contest.

"Alright, Riolu. This is a practice battle. Do not worry about anything and just do your best." Aurora stated to her blue Pokémon. He turned his head towards her and nodded, with red eyes gleaming with a touch of determination.

"The first move is yours, Viv." Aurora was confident that Vivian would start the battle of with a defensive move and she did not disappoint at all.

"Let's start with Barrier, Mime!" Mime Jr. gave a nod and moved his hands in a way that mimicked the shape of a wall in front of him. The wall glowed blue and then disappeared into Mime Jr.'s body.

Aurora reacted at once. "Riolu, use Foresight and then get close with Quick Attack."

She had looked up the moves Riolu knew with her Pokédex and had been surprised when she found out he had two moves, which he had inherited from his parents. Of course, they would be a nice surprise, so she kept them a secret from Vivian.

Riolu stood still for a moment with his eyes closed and concentrated. Somehow, he knew what Mime Jr. was going to do after this and he rushed off to meet the clown on his side of the field. His black paws were hitting the hard wooden floor briefly before they were lifted up again.

"Now, use Reflect, Mime!" Once again, the Mime Pokémon made the movements to conjure up a wall, but this time it was yellow in color and it did not disappear into Mime Jr.

Riolu shot as a small bullet over the ground and rammed through the Reflect, but lost a lot of his momentum the moment he crossed the yellow colored wall. The Quick Attack did hit but with less power than was intended. Mime Jr. did not make a sound as he was shoved backward a little bit.

"Alright, now get away from Mime Jr.! Get back," Aurora instructed the canine, but Riolu hesitated. Wouldn't another hit be the better way to go?

Vivian made use of the pause in Aurora's fighting style and ordered a Psybeam to be shot at Riolu. The small pink Pokémon had no trouble listening to his Trainer and fired off the multi-colored beam of rings to his opponent.

Riolu had not expected the clown to retaliate so swiftly and was hit with the beam right in the chest. He was forced from the ground and was thrown back to Aurora's feet. As he scrambled to get back on his feet, he heard his Mom speak to him.

"Next time, you need to listen to me when I tell you to back off from your opponent." Riolu understood what his mother was saying. He was in pain, but he didn't want to back down from the fight so he readied himself for another command.

"You want to continue fighting? Okay. Then use Quick Attack, get in close and wait for the next order." Aurora gave a fierce grin; she knew this was a lost battle but they would go down fighting. Her baby would learn a lot from this.

Riolu rushed once again to the clown on the other side of the field but now made sure to keep his ears wide open for the follow-up command.

Vivian wasn't certain what Aurora was thinking; she had used this strategy before and she had crushed it. Whatever, she was going to win.

"Mime, if you please. Another Barrier." Vivian's soft voice rang out over the battlefield. By now they had gained some watchers from the crowd around the other battlefield and they were in full support of Vivian. Secretly, they laughed at the girl who was commanding the little Fighting-type; was she really that stupid?

As the mime started to form yet another blue wall, Riolu got in the range Aurora needed him to be at.

"Go to the right side, turn and use Blaze Kick!" Aurora stifled a laugh when she saw the reactions of the crowd, but Viv's was even more fun to look at.

Shock and a little bit of panic spread all over her face as Viviantried to think of something to counter the kick that was coming, but to no avail, because Mime Jr. was still busy with the Barrier. In the end, she just shouted out for Mime Jr. to use another Psybeam as soon as he could.

Riolu shot to the right side of Mime Jr. and dropped low on the ground, spun on his paw and simultaneously charged up his Blaze Kick. The flames around his left leg were weak and extremely uncomfortable, but it was still a Blaze Kick that was capable of hurting his opponent. With the added speed of the Quick Attack, the kick was driven hard into Mime Jr.'s stomach, who due to all his defense boosts didn't really feel it but was shoved back hard enough to gain a little distance.

Mime Jr. had just finished using the Barrier move when he turn to face the Fighting dog and unleash his Psybeam. Holding it a little longer, he unleashed the beam just as Riolu jumped back and was still in the air. Not capable of dodging the Psybeam, Riolu was caught and blacked out.

Aurora gave a happy smirk, loving the fact that she had caught everyone off guard when she told Riolu to use Blaze Kick. She walked over to where Riolu laid on the battlefield and picked him up, cradling him in her arms.

* * *

Vivian was praising her Mime Jr. who, for once, hadn't fallen down on his face. Two seconds later as he was spinning on his foot, he did fall over. She just sighed and recalled him in his Poké Ball, swapping her Mime Jr.'s ball for that of Sylveon. She glanced at Aurora, who was also ready to continue fighting and had set Riolu down at her feet to watch the battle.

"Shine, Leafeon."

"Enchant, Sylveon!"

The two Eeveelutions were released at the same time and the difference was visible. Leafeon was ready to fight but wasn't showing it in his demeanor, much like his Trainer. Sylveon, on the other hand, was nervous and her tail kept wagging back and forth, and her Trainer wasn't as certain that she would be able to win this fight as well.

"Since you started the previous fight, I'll take the first move now. Leafeon, use Sunny Day and brace yourself." Aurora kicked the battle of to a swift start. Leafeon gathered the bits of sunlight in a ball and shot it into the sky, the clouds disappeared within seconds to let the sun warm the crowd on the top deck of the ferry. Leafeon started glowing in a soft, green light.

Vivian wasn't certain what she should do. While Sylveon could fight, it was advised by Nurse Joy to not let her overdo it, so she needed to figure something out. She nodded and started off her side of the battle.

"Sylveon, use Swift and then Fairy Wind before Leafeon recovers." Vivian had decided to take a long range approach.

Sylveon's head ribbons glowed with a radiant, golden light and when she opened her mouth, stars shot out, quickly making their way to where Leafeon was standing. Then, she prepared the Fairy Wind, glowing in a soft pink light, she unleashed a glittering wind that stormed after the flying stars.

"Magical Leaf to counter those stars and then use Arial Ace to dodge the next attack. Go in for the hit." Aurora had expected Vivian to come up with something that would take the pressure of Sylveon's limited ability to move. It left long range as one of the possibilities, and Aurora and Leafeon were ready for it.

Leafeon shook his head twice and multi-colored leaves surrounded the Grass-type. With a cry, he let them loose and they sliced right through the glittering stars to make them seemingly explode in shimmering particles.

He set off at an a speed that most of the spectators had never seen before, a stream of air surrounded the Grass-type Eeveelution as he sped through the Fairy Wind, leaving the attack to dissipate harmlessly behind him. The sparkles created a beautiful effect with his shining, green coat.

Sylveon had no choice but to take the speeding Eeveelution head on. The poor, pink fox cried out as her opponent slashed at her time after time, causing Vivian to wince when her Pokémon was in audible pain. Her strength quickly drained with every hit.

"Use Baby-doll Eyes when he gets close and follow up with Draining Kiss!" Vivian was overwhelmed; was this the true strength of Aurora and her Pokémon? The speed that Leafeon possessed was ridiculous. How did he get so fast? She didn't know, but she squared her feet and took a strong stance. This battle wasn't over yet.

Sylveon buckled up and waited for an opportune moment to initiate her orders. When Leafeon appeared in front of her, she let loose her cutest expression: the Baby-doll eyes. Leafeon stopped in his tracks, letting the wind around his body fade into nothing.

Taking the chance, Sylveon winked at the Leafeon and gave him a fake kiss that spawned a bright pink heart that floated to Leafeon. As soon as it hit the leaf Pokémon, the heart burst and smaller hearts floated back to Sylveon, who regained a bit of her strength.

Aurora had forgotten one thing about Sylveon: her Ability of Cute Charm. She cursed herself softly and told Leafeon to get back, away from the Fairy Vixen. Luckily for Aurora, Leafeon had gotten lucky and was not Attracted to Sylveon. At least, not as a status condition and he hopped away from the Sylveon.

A distance fight was something Aurora wanted to avoid if possible because Leafeon was better in close combat. As Leafeon came back to her side of the field, Aurora gave him her orders.

"Razor Leaf and make it a good one. Get in between the leaves to use Giga Drain." Aurora snapped out her arm as she gave the commands to Leafeon.

Leafeon knew from the condition Sylveon was in that she wouldn't be able to take the double attack and readied himself. He launched himself in the air and somersaulted forwards shooting the razor sharp leaves with an impeccable accuracy, using his tail to determine where the leaves were going. The moment he landed, he ran off, zigzagging in the space between the leaves and Sylveon.

"Use Fairy Wind. Slow him down!" In a last ditch effort to turn the tides, Vivian shouted out to Sylveon.

Sylveon had just managed to conjure the winds when the first leaves slammed into her. A moment later, Leafeon was there and with his paw on her back he drained her of the rest of her energy, causing the pink fox to collapse.

The battle was over and the crowd was hollering and cheering. For a practice battle, it had seemed a hell of a lot like the two of them were fighting to prove something to the other. One of the best battles the other Trainers had seen today.

Vivian ran to her fallen Pokémon and saw that except for a few bruises and a shallow cut, Sylveon was alright. Aurora's Leafeon had stayed next to Sylveon since he felt bad for her pain. Aurora walked over with Riolu running in front of her. Smiling, she thanked Leafeon and Riolu for their participation and returned them to their Poké Balls. The blonde did the same for Sylveon but first pressed a kiss to her Pokémon's head.

The two Trainers vacated the battlefield and were greeted with approving smiles and thumbs up from the Trainers that had been watching the battle. Of course, there were also the jealous stares and Aurora had been approached to trade her Riolu with something… more in line with contests. She almost punched the guy in the face in reaction to that insult, but Viv had managed to hold her back, grinning the whole time.

* * *

Later that evening, the two girls were talking about their fights.

"Riolu has to learn to trust me when I give an order, otherwise he will be hurt more often than necessary." Aurora knew, however, that it was only a matter of time before Riolu would trust her enough to do it, so she wasn't worried about it. However, as she turned to her friend, Vivian had bigger problems.

Aurora petted Vulpix, who cooed and made herself comfortable.

"You are right, your problem will be overcome in time, but mine is a bit harder." Vivian sighed and stopped brushing her hair. She placed her hands on her lap and looked towards Aurora to see if the older girl could give her some advice.

"If you ask me, your strategy was quite good, however, I think you are overthinking Sylveon's injury. She was fine when Leafeon attacked her and was able to take quite some pain. Make her more mobile and you will be better off." Aurora was just thinking out loud, but to Vivian it sounded like it could work.

"You mean like Leafeon did today with the speed thing." She was still trying to make sense of it. Leafeon had Leaf Guard as Ability, did they not? She voiced this question out loud and Aurora chuckled.

"Nah, you know the lore about Pokémon having Hidden Abilities, right?" Not waiting for an answer Aurora continued. "Leafeon has the Hidden Ability Chlorophyll. With a high base speed and then doubling it, it results into a speed demon. That is why Leafeon is so fast." Aurora gave a grin to her friend.

"Sylveon will never be as fast as Leafeon, but have her dodge attacks instead of taking them will make her more of a threat. Maybe she can learn some of the defense raising moves that Mime Jr. was using today." The blonde smiled and nodded. That was what she had been thinking too.

After some more talk, the two fell asleep, Vulpix and Altaria watching over them.

* * *

The next day they arrived at Petalburg Harbor. The girls were the last ones out, as they didn't feel like getting trampled by the crowd.

With Altaria high in the sky and Banette hiding in Aurora's shadow, the girls set out for the Pokémon center. Aurora just looked forward.

'Watch out, Hoenn; I am going to kick ass!'

* * *

2-4-2016


	6. Chapter 5: Many Types of Strength

Thank you, The 6th Spectral King, for Reviewing and for the permission to add Logan to the cast of Delta Emerald!

Thank you, Cupcake Crew, for Fav-ing and Following the story!

* * *

 **Chapter 5:** Many ways of Strength

Hot. Why was it so hot today? Vivian sighed in frustration. She liked warm weather, but this was just ridiculous. Why could Aurora act like nothing was wrong? The young, aspiring Gym Leader cursed Hoenn for the tenth time in just as many minutes.

Aurora walked next to her without any sign of trouble. She was completely fine and Banette was still shadow stepping everywhere without a care in the world.

Vivian merely cursed the weather again. Even her icy glare did nothing. Her Altaria was flying above her, swooping and thriving in the warm weather.

In the meantime, while Vivian was cursing the innocent sun, Aurora was thinking about her Pokémon. Her Pokémon were powerful, not overly so but still better than average. Riolu, however, was really behind in power-levels. So, she would need to give the most training time and attention to her newest Pokémon. That could be a problem if her other Pokémon would feel left behind.

Aurora was dreading the battles that would come. If she made the wrong judgment, Riolu could get hurt, but calling out Banette or Metang for a Zigzagoon or a Wurmple would be overkill. She would need to judge every opposing Pokémon with extreme care to make sure she wouldn't do something stupid.

Training was the first thing Aurora would do after she and Vivian booked a room at the Pokémon Center. She glanced at Vivian and saw that the blonde was having trouble with the hot weather. Aurora noticed for the first time that it was really warm on that day. She chuckled and grabbed Vivian's wrist to pull her into the shadows on the other side of the road while Aurora stepped into the light.

"Why did you do that?" The blonde was startled by Aurora's sudden action.

"You'll get sunburned if you stay out in the sun. You aren't used to staying outside all day anymore after your apprenticeship in the Gym building." Aurora grinned at Viv's surprised face. "Besides, you're too pale to be in the sun. You will probably get a nicely sized burn on your face, anyway."

"Oh, fall over, Shorty." Vivian bit out to the amused Aurora.

"Get burned, Pale face." Aurora taunted Viv. They stared at each other for a moment and then they burst out laughing.

"Thanks, Aura."

"Always."

* * *

Aurora and Vivian reached the Petalburg City Pokémon Center just before the evening rush hit. They were walking through the doors when Vivian remembered that she needed to call her mother.

"I need to call Mom. Can you go and get a room while I wait for a phone to free up?" She pleaded with the copper-haired girl. Aurora nodded and headed towards the counter to talk to Nurse Joy. Vivian kept watch over the phone booths, but it didn't seem like the people that were on the videophones would get up anytime soon. Altaria hummed at Vivian to make the wait more bearable. Banette stayed with Vivian to try and annoy Altaria, which was something he had missed dearly while he and his Human were away.

Aurora approached the desk and only a Chansey was behind the counter. The area around it was completely empty and it didn't seem like it was going to be busy. So, Aurora padded up to the counter and spoke to the nurse Pokémon.

"Good afternoon, Chansey," Aurora smiled at the Chansey.

"Chan-sey." The nurse Pokémon looked up from her work and saw Aurora leaning on the desk.

"Do you have free rooms for a few days, Chansey?" Aurora handed over her Pokédex to the Pokémon. The Chansey nodded, took her Pokédex and went to the computer to book a room for her. The Pokémon looked back at Aurora and seemed to ask how many people were in her party.

"Oh sorry. I'd like a room for two if you still have one." The Chansey nodded and looked in the computer for the two-person rooms.

"Chansey!" The nurse Pokémon held up two keys with a tag with the room number on it and Aurora's green Pokédex. As the pink Pokémon held them out toward Aurora, suddenly the keys were snatched out of the Pokémon's paws. The pink Pokémon was fast enough to prevent the theft from Aurora's Pokédex.

The redhead then turned her head to look at the person that had to snatch her keys and made a face when she recognized the person. Great, it was Viktor. Her childhood acquaintance. He dressed to the nines. He had a haughty smile on his face, making it that clear he had recognized her too and then he opened his mouth.

She quickly interrupted him, not wishing to talk to him at all.

"Please hand me the room keys. They were registered to my name and as such they are now my rental property." Aurora decided to take the polite route before she would let her hands fly out.

"If it isn't the little Lady of Snowbelle. It is a pleasure to run into you here, Lady." Viktor didn't pay her threat any thoughts and made a flamboyant bow. He was shaking the keys above her head, laughing the whole time. Teal eyes were starting to flame, with her hands itching to bury in his stomach.

Aurora huffed. It was so like him to portray himself like a perfect gentleman. And why couldn't he stop calling her a lady?

"Don't you have anything better to do than to harass me?" She sneered at Viktor. She saw that his stance was great to just push him over if she managed to get close enough.

"But why should I give up my only chance of meeting you again? I missed you so much after you started your journey." He asked while stepping forward.

Aurora stepped back to avoid his attempt to get closer to her. There wasn't much room and she bumped into Someone. The guy carefully steadied her without saying a word. When Aurora looked up at him, she saw green eyes glaring at Viktor.

Luckily, she didn't have to do anything. The guy's hand reached up out of nowhere and grabbed the keys out of Viktor's hand.

"I do not believe that these were given to you." A gruff voice was heard from just beside Aurora's head.

Aurora turned to that side saw the guy standing there with the keys in his hand. His bright green eyes were narrowed and staring right at Viktor's now angry face.

"You are causing a scene." The guy told Viktor in a gruff voice. The tone was comforting to Aurora, who took in the words and looked around to see that indeed people were looking at them. She personally didn't care about attracting attention, but she knew Nurse Joy wouldn't be happy with them if they kept it up.

"Viktor, it is better if you just leave me alone. I am not amused with your flirting attempts. So please, just leave."

Viktor glanced around and didn't find the situation that was developing to his liking. With a grimace, he tossed the key back to Aurora, who was barely able to catch it. She was surprised that he gave in so quickly. Her surprise turned into irritation at what he did next.

"I will see you later again, princess. Good luck against Norman. You will need it." He gave her a pitying look and with a cocky wave, he departed from the lobby.

She stuck out her tongue and huffed. Inwardly, she worried a bit about the words but she shook him off quickly.

"Thank you for getting my keys from that creep." Aurora expressed her gratitude to the guy with his bright green eyes and turned to the Chansey. She was well aware that he kept a watchful look on her, but didn't pay it any heed.

"Thank you, Chansey. Especially for keeping my Pokédex out of his hands." The Chansey smiled and got back to her normal work. Aurora turned back to the guy that had stolen her keys back and gave him a smile.

"Logan. You have met him before?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Charmed. My name is Aurora. Yeah, unfortunately. We come from the same hometown. I used to see him every day when I was ten years old." Aurora softly replied. She shifted on her feet, uncomfortable with the topic.

He noticed it and shifted the topic to her conversation with Chansey. A well-placed comment on her civility towards the nurse Pokémon was all that was needed to break the ice. She laughed softly and replied softly.

"I've probably spent way too many hours of my time awake at the Pokémon Center in my hometown, thanks to my best friend. So I practically grew up with Chansey around. Besides, don't all Pokémon deserve good manners?"

"They do," Logan agreed.

"Right, thanks again. I have to go now. Hope to see you again." Aurora waved at him and walked off to go to her and Vivian's room.

The guy with the bright green eyes watched her go.

* * *

The blonde still didn't manage to get a turn on a videophone, when Aurora came back from putting her pack in the small room.

"Hey, still no chance to call your mom?" She held up the room key for Vivian to take. She grabbed it with a frustrated sigh. Altaria shook her head.

"I don't understand it. How long can you talk to somebody for one end at the time? I never take that long to talk to somebody on the videophone." Vivian was annoyed and it was clearly shining through in her voice.

"Probably because you were in a position to actually call people more often than normal Trainers do and as such you have less to tell the people you call. I mean I have a Xtransceiver, but many Trainers only call from Pokémon Centers." Aurora tried to offer an explanation.

The blonde nodded; it would make more sense to look at it that way. Banette came over stand next to his Trainer. He had been unable to annoy the bird firmly perched on her trainer's shoulder.

The girls waited together with their Pokémon for a phone to free up. Finally, a phone became available.

The blonde rushed toward the phone and dropped heavily on the stool in front of the screen. Aurora followed at a slower pace and leaned to the right side of her best friend.

The girl dialed her home number and within a few rings her mother appeared on the screen. Her mother looked exactly like Vivian, down to the littlest detail.

"Hey, mom," Vivian was happy to see her mother. She lightened up immediately when she saw her.

"Hi, Vivian and Altaria. How is Hoenn?" The nurse on the screen was smiling. Her chocolate eyes were twinkling happily. Altaria gave a happy chirp and rubbed her head on her trainer's cheek.

"It's great! I stayed with François for a few days until Aurora arrived at Slateport. We have taken the ferry to Petalburg City already and I caught a new Pokémon: a Sylveon. Except the weather, why is it so warm here? I mean I get that it is a tropical region, but really," Vivian groaned.

"It is going to get worse when summer comes rolling around." Vivian's mom was really no-nonsense, probably because she was used to dealing with teenagers.

"Why does everybody try to make it worse?" Aurora chuckled and intervened before Viv would continue to complain about the weather.

"Good to see you again, Nurse Rosenfeld." The nurse seemed to notice the other girl for the first time.

"Oh, Aurora, it's so good to hear from you again. How are you doing after you know?" The nurse was concerned about the other girl and it showed on her face.

"I'm doing a lot better now that I'm away from Sinnoh and I have started to realize that that excuse for a human being was wrong. Like Vivi, I have a new Pokémon, although mine hatched from an egg. With my new Riolu, my team is now complete." Aurora and Nurse Rosenfeld shared a thoughtful look.

"That is wonderful to hear. Vivi, Could you leave Azurill here a little longer?" Vivian nodded confused. That came right out of the blue. Taking a glance at Aurora, Vivian got the feeling that it wasn't adding up for her either.

"Your Azurill still isn't feeling better. That fight you had with him took its toll and the poor thing is nearing a breakdown." Nurse Rosenfeld elaborated to her daughter.

Vivian looked to her lap; she had been worried about Azurill. The little mouse had gotten hurt during a practice battle and acted strangely ever since. Azurill didn't want to fight anymore and Vivian had had no choice but to leave Azurill behind with her mother in Snowbelle City.

"I see. I was hoping that he would feel better, but it can't be helped." She mused. She hoped Azurill would feel better soon, he was her longest partner after Altaria. Her mother nodded and gave her daughter a wry smile.

"Thank you, Vivi. I have to go now; my shift starts in half an hour and there is something I still need to do. I love you."

"Love you too, mom. Talk to you soon again." Vivian and her mother waved goodbye and the screen went black as the blonde hung up.

Aurora placed her hand on Vivian's shoulder and steered her up to the stairs to go to their room.

* * *

The next morning, the girls went out early to train to be prepared for their upcoming Gym battles. Aurora had asked Nurse Joy to sign her up for the Hoenn League just before they left in the morning to Route 102. Most Trainers would go to Route 103 to train because of the hot weather and that route had a beach.

Route 102 was a forest path that would provide the shade that was needed to ensure Viv wouldn't glow in the evening. Or at least, that was what Aurora would give as an explanation when Vivian asked why they were going to the other side of the City.

It had earned Aurora a groan and a half-hearted swat to the head. She had dodged it and had sprinted away to see if she would be able to find a suitable spot to train.

After finding a place suitable for what Aurora needed, the girls started to train their Pokémon.

Aurora had Vulpix and Riolu out to work on Riolu's Blaze Kick. The little, fighting Pokémon needed to feel the flames and reproduce them with his Blaze Kick. First, Vulpix would shoot out a Flamethrower and let Riolu experience the heat of the flames. Riolu had managed after an hour to reproduce the heat of the flames in his own Blaze Kick. His flames, on the other hand, were still pitiful to look at.

Vulpix was happy to help her newest teammate to improve his move. So she improvised and used Flame Charge to show her teammate how big her flames were. Riolu's eyes went big when he saw her attack, never imagining that she would be able to have her flames as high as she herself was, doubling her size.

Aurora just sat down to watch her Pokémon to do their thing. She knew better than to interfere with her Vulpix when she went into her Mother Fox mode. Vulpix was as gentle as Altaria were known for, but beware her temper if you hurt anyone she cared about. Much like her Trainer if Aurora thought about it. She just set out to wait and supervise her Pokémon.

She noticed that Vivian was training with Sylveon and let out Leafeon to help the Fairy-type Eeveelution if she needed some tips on handling her bigger size.

Vivian was busy with her own training of Sylveon to help her get better at dodging on the spot. Floette had been called out to send her Razor Leaf to act as projectiles. Sylveon was slowly getting used to her restricted movement and her bigger size; after evolving she had almost tripled in size. So adjustment was needed.

Leafeon was helping Sylveon, showing her how to best sidestep a frontal attack and how to use her hind legs to propel her backward if she needed to do that. Sylveon was optimistic with her chances to improve with Leafeon as her teacher.

Vivian had out Togepi and held the little fairy close to her, as she watched the other Pokémon train.

* * *

The girls had retired early the previous night to make their way to the Petalburg Gym first thing in the morning after breakfast.

Training had been fruitful; Sylveon was more mobile, Riolu had a better grip on his Blaze Kick and had learned how to Counter, and Vivian's Togepi had some practice of his own.

They approached the Gym. It was a simple building, just big enough to have a reception and a medium sized battle field, unlike the Laverre Gym that Vivian was so used to. The girl clad in red and white was staring at the Gym with worry. What if the Gym Leader wasn't going to give her the recommendation? What if she wasn't good enough? What if…

A hand firmly placed itself on her shoulder. Vivian looked at Aurora who was standing there with a determined look on her face.

"Stop worrying about it. It will not help a bit. Go in there and just kick ass." Aurora didn't look at the other girl and walked through the doors into the Petalburg Gym.

Vivian took a deep breath and pulled herself together. Her Poké Balls tingled merrily with every move she made. She, too, walked into the Gym. Altaria was once again perched on her shoulder just before she went in the Gym.

In the Gym, she was met by the sight of Aurora talking to the receptionist. Of course, Aurora was leaning on the counter again. Vivian joined them at the counter.

"So, does the Gym Leader have any spots left for today for a battle?" Aurora asked the woman behind the counter.

The woman nodded and looked up the times that were still available for that day.

"He has one time slot left in the afternoon. If both of you want to challenge him, one of you will have to go to the day after tomorrow." Aurora was dismayed. The day after tomorrow? Viv had only one shot at the approval and would get extremely nervous if she had to wait for that long.

Aurora groaned and waved at Vivian to book the appointment for today. "You go today, Viv. I can wait for a little while longer, but it would be better if you get your battle out of the way sooner." The receptionist was surprised by the girl with the beanie. No Trainer she had ever met had refused the opportunity to battle as soon as they possibly could.

"Thank you, Aurora," Vivian beamed at her friend.

"Just win your approval." Aurora was sulking by now.

"Approval? Not a Gym Badge?" A definitely male voice came from behind them.

The girls turned around, Vivian almost falling down because of the speed she twirled with and Aurora just turned on the spot. Now leaning on the counter with her elbows and her back, she studied the male that was standing in the entrance hall.

He was older than them with navy blue hair and matching eyes. He was wearing a red trainer jacket and black track pants. Aurora could hear the telltale clacks of geta. She was a bit confused. From what she had heard the Fighting-type specialist was situated in Dewford, not in Petalburg

Vivian was the first to reply to the question the Man had asked of them. She squared her shoulders and opened her mouth.

"Yes, my approval. I am Vivian Rosenfeld. I was the apprentice of Valerie of Laverre City until the Hoenn League called to invite a Trainer from her Gym to join the ranks of the Hoenn Gym leaders. I was offered the position by her," Vivian took the chance to take a breath.

"So you are traveling to win your five recommendations? And here I thought today was going to be boring. I am Norman, the Gym Leader of the Petalburg Gym. Your challenge is accepted, Ms. Rosenfeld." Norman drew up to his full height when he introduced himself. He extended his hand to her.

She took it and they shook hands. Norman glanced at the other girl who had turned back to his receptionist. Vivian grabbed his attention again.

"How does it work? Getting the approval and the higher difficulty for the next Gym, I mean."

"I think you are going a little too fast, but I'll tell you. If you win, you'll get a badge with the league insignia on the back. Normal badges have the insignia in black, but yours will have it in white instead. Next about the difficulty spike, first Gym will treat you like you are going for your first badge. Meaning I will give you the first Gym treatment." Vivian nodded. "The next will be the same as your friend's third Gym battle and so forth to the seventh Gym. The last will be the same as an eighth Gym battle."

The blonde felt a bit underwhelmed by the information; this trial was just a speed up Gym League Challenge? Suddenly, she felt a lot better about the trials in front of her.

"Normally, I would not take on a first Badge challenger, but I'll make an exception for you." Aurora heard Norman and rolled her eyes, before butting in.

"Excuse me, I'm guessing that you will refuse my challenge then? I am Aurora Lockwood." She walked up to the others and offered her hand to Norman, he quickly took it and gave her a firm handshake. "I would challenge you but I'm going up for my first badge of this Region," Vivian noticed that she looked slightly irritated. Right. Aurora did come here for her first Gym Badge and Norman just said he didn't do first Gym Battles. Vivian knew that this conversation was going south.

"You're up for your first Badge?" Norman raised his eyebrows to her.

"For the Hoenn League, this badge will be the first and I'm willing to treat the battle as a more advanced one. I didn't start over from scratch in this region like many other Trainers do. I am fully prepared to fight a battle for a fourth badge. A first badge battle would be very boring to be honest." Aurora needled. She had been looking forward to fighting again for a cause and now she was going to be denied.

"Hm, that is interesting. How about we do a third badge match?" Norman offered to Aurora. Vivian let out a barely audible sigh of relief when she heard that. That was something at least.

"That is fine, Norman. That would be a perfect warm-up for my Pokémon." Aurora gave a short bow to the Petalburg City Gym leader.

Suddenly, the doors to the outside opened. A young boy walked in. He looked around shyly and was a little uncomfortable. The stares of the others in the room did not help his case.

He stepped towards Norman. He stood there gathering his courage. Aurora and Vivian gave him an encouraging smile.

"Mr. Norman. Um… E-excuse me… I… I'd like to get a Pokémon, please…" The kid was adorable with his green messy hair and big ice blue eyes. He couldn't be any older than ten. Aurora was concerned with how sickly he looked.

"Hm? You're… Uh… Oh, right. You're Wally, right? You finally starting you journey?" Norman looked curiously at the small boy that was fidgeting with his sleeves.

"Y-yes, I am Wally and no… I'm supposed to go stay with my relatives in Verdanturf Town for a while. But I thought I might be lonely by myself, so I wanted to bring a Pokémon with me. But I've never caught a Pokémon by myself… I'm not sure if I can."

Wally was ashamed to admit that he still had no Pokémon with him. Aurora gave Wally a secretive smile and she winked at him. Wally felt a little better, but it still wasn't helping that he had no Pokémon.

"Hm. I see. Too bad that my first fight is in twenty minutes. I can't help you today, Wally." Norman did look genuinely sorry as he raked his hand through his navy hair.

"I'll take him. At least, if that is alright with you, Wally." Aurora offered to the young boy. His eyes lit at the fact that someone would offer to take him. He nodded happily at her and then blushed at his behavior and looked at his feet.

"I want to do some last minute training with my Pokémon, so I can't go with you guys." Vivian apologized to Aurora and Wally.

Aurora shrugged, she had suspected that this would happen and didn't count on Vivian anyway.

"You heard that, right, Wally? This girl is willing to go with you and make sure that you safely catch a Pokémon. Here, I'll loan you my Pokémon." Norman nodded gratefully to the two girls and handed over a Poké Ball to Wally.

"This is my Zigzagoon. Take care of her, will you?" Wally nodded.

"Oh, wow… Your Pokémon, sir? Th-thank you, Mr. Norman! Um…? You will… You will really come with me?" He asked as he turned to the girls.

Aurora took charge. "I am Aurora and this is my friend Vivian." She pointed at the blonde girl in the room. "Her partner, Altaria," the beautiful bird trilled in response, "and my partner, Banette, is behind you." Banette rose from the shadows were he had been hidden all the time since before his trainer had walked into the Gym building.

"Banette."

Wally was amazed by the sudden appearance of the Ghost-type. He looked at the Banette as the Pokémon started sulking.

"Is he … sulking?" Wally just had to know why the strong-looking Pokémon acted like that.

"He is used to his victims screaming and being scared when he does his shadow trick, but you didn't react like he wanted so now he is sulking like a little child." Aurora stuck out her tongue to her faithful partner. He retaliated by pulling his eyelids down and sticking his own tongue out. Wally had not expected to see older Trainers behave like this. From what he had seen, they would usually act more... mature? No, dignified was the right word.

"So, shall we go?" Wally looked to his right to see Vivian standing there with a smug smile on her face.

"You aren't going to stop them." Wally stated, somehow knowing that the thing between Aurora and her Pokémon happened more often than he expected.

"Nope. See you later, Leader Norman." Vivian waved at the Gym Leader and left the building with Altaria in tow. Aurora, Wally and Banette raced out of the building a few minutes later.

* * *

"… and that is when I learned that even normal Pokémon hit hard when they put their minds to it." Aurora finished the narration of her catching her first Pokémon. Wally laughed heartily at the story. Banette chuckled as he remembered the day he first saw his trainer. She had been so easily startled.

"So, Wally, you know how to catch a Pokémon, right?" Aurora wanted to find out more about the frail-looking boy. He looked a bit confused for a moment, but then his eyes lightened up. He nodded.

"Um, you are… supposed to fight with the Pokémon, weaken it first and then throw a Poké Ball. At least that is what I read in a b-book the other day." Wally was thinking about it and only remembered that bit. Books weren't all that clear on that subject.

"Hmhm, while it is true that fighting against a Pokémon is needed in most circumstances to weaken it before you can try to catch it, there is a thing that is more important than that." Aurora looked pensive as she remembered the advice that her uncle had given her.

"What is that?" Wally looked up to the older trainer, hoping that she would give him a straight answer.

"You need to find a Pokémon that is compatible with you, one that you will be able to trust and respect. And that works both ways." Aurora recited. She had learned that the hard way. She was in no way ever going to train an Ice-type. She shivered at the thought.

Wally was a little confused. He had learned that being a Trainer was all about power. According to his teacher and the books he had read, in order to be a successful trainer you had to be powerful enough to keep your Pokémon in control. So were they wrong?

"Not necessarily wrong. But that is not the whole truth either. A Pokémon will not fight to its fullest extent if there is no bond between them. Or when it dislikes its trainer." Aurora laughed softly when she saw Wally blush. He hadn't realized that he had been talking out loud. But he still nodded in response.

"There are different kinds of strength and from strength comes power. Like, being courageous or having a bunch of knowledge. Being kind is a strength, as is being observant. Of course, you also can go too far in them and turn your strength into a weakness. Be wary and don't overdo stuff." Aurora gave as a last warning. The two of them reached the clearing Aurora had been in yesterday and she thought that this would be as good of a spot as any other.

"So, do you know what kind of Pokémon live around Petalburg?" Aurora asked as she jumped up a tree stump.

"Zigzagoon, Ralts, Seedot, Surskit and maybe Taillow?" Wally wasn't entirely sure since he hadn't see them himself. He had only heard of them from his classmates.

"Hm, I don't think that a Zigzagoon or a Taillow would be a good fit for you right now. Maybe a Ralts?" Aurora looked at Wally with a questioning gaze.

He thought about it briefly before agreeing. A Ralts sounded great.

She could see that it had been the right thing to suggest and pulled out one of her balls.

"Let's go, Zigzagoon." With that Wally tossed the red and white ball in front of him.

Wally shielded his eyes from the bright light and when he looked again a brown and cream striped raccoon was sitting in the grass next to Aurora. The older trainer grabbed one of her custom-made Poké Balls and released her own Pokémon.

"Vulpix, this is Wally and that is Zigzagoon. Wally wants to catch his first Pokémon. I thought we could help him a bit by watching over them." Aurora knelt next to the fox and stroke the curls on the head of the fox.

"Vuul," The fox nodded and nuzzled her trainer's hand happily.

"If it gets out of hand, Vulpix and I will step in." Aurora smiled at the green-haired boy. The fox yipped in agreement.

The raccoon had walked over to Wally and rubbed her head against Wally's hand and he smiled in wonder. He gazed at his surrounding and slowly stood up. Zigzagoon protested loudly at the sudden motion and huffed as Wally's hand was pulled away.

"Aurora… Pokémon hide in tall grass like this, don't they?" Aurora nodded and let him screen through the tall grass on his own. He went in the grass while Aurora sat down on the tree stump. While she kept a careful eye out for him, she let him do it on his own. It took some time but Wally managed to find a Ralts that seemed to like him.

"Aurora, look! A Ralts. P-please, stay there to watch and see if I can catch one properly." Wally called for Zigzagoon, who bounded in front of him.

Aurora just stayed put. She offered some advice from her place on the stump, but mostly let Wally figure it out for himself.

She watched as Wally commanded the Normal-type. It was obvious that he was not a natural battler, but he did have the passion that was needed to get far. She gave a soft smile, maybe he would go far.

At last, they managed to weaken the Ralts enough that Wally was confident enough to throw his empty Poké Ball at the small Psychic- and Fairy-type Pokémon.

Aurora felt a bit nervous; would the Ralts stay in the Poké Ball? Closing her eyes, she gave a small prayer to Xernas and watched.

Wally ran up to her with Zigzagoon running behind him, his new Poké Ball clutched in his hands. He was jumping up and down in excitement over his new Pokémon. Aurora laughed merrily and gave Wally a brief hug.

* * *

Wally had let out his Ralts and was talking to him. Aurora had Vulpix walking beside her and the two would give the new trainer and Pokémon duo happy looks.

The foursome walked together to the Pokémon gym in the northern parts of the small city. Azure scooped up her fox as she crossed the threshold into the Petalburg Gym for the second time in a day. Norman was taking a break before he was scheduled to battle Vivian and welcomed the two trainers and their Pokémon back.

"So, did it work out?" He had spotted Wally talking to a Ralts and had an inkling that it had went well.

"Yes, it did! Thank you! Let me give you back your Pokémon, sir." Wally handed over the Poké Ball containing the borrowed Zigzagoon. "Zigzagoon was great; he listened really well to me!" Wally was ecstatic and it shone through his whole being. He turned to Aurora.

"And you, Aurora… Thank you so much for coming with me. It was all thanks to you two that I was able to catch Ralts. My very own Ralts… I will always, always treasure it! …Oh, I know! It's not much of a thank-you, but… um… Aurora? Will you let me see your PokéNav for a second?"

Aurora handed him her PokéNav with a flourish. "Here you go, good sir." She smiled slightly at the young green-haired boy. He took it with care and started accessing the menus.

"OK, that and… ummm… there!"

"I put my number in there! Um… and I have put your number in mine. So I can ask for advice and… keep in touch." He shuffled his feet around and looked at his feet.

"That is fine. Just try to call in the evenings or the early morning. Those are the times that we are able to take calls without fear of being busy." Aurora placed her hand on his shoulder and it calmed him down enough for him to smile back at her.

"I've wanted to have my own Pokémon for so long… and do all those kinda things together. Like you have done already… So I've had my PokéNav for ages! Embarrassing, huh? I'm going to try my best together with Ralts. You do your best, too, Aurora! Oh, but mom's waiting for me. I've got to get going! I hope we'll meet again, Aurora! And you, too, Mr. Norman!" Wally gave the PokéNav back to Aurora and gave a short bow to Norman. He grabbed Ralts and ran out the Gym onward to his family.

Aurora gave a smile as she watched Wally leave to go home. His Ralts was walking beside his trainer proudly.

Norman gave a booming laugh. "You sure made an impression on young Wally."

"Of course. He needed to learn the meaning of strength. More importantly, he needed to realize he possesses his own kind of strength and now he has to bring it out himself. I have high hopes for him," Aurora gave Norman a sly smile.

"Be prepared for when he comes back to challenge you, Leader Norman."

At that moment Vivian strolled back through the doors with an angry expression on her face, but it lightened up quick after she spotted Aurora and Norman,

"I am looking forward to it." Norman replied to Aurora before turning to gaze at Vivian.

"But for now I have a standing engagement with the young lady with the Altaria."

Vivian gave a grin and nodded.

"Let's do this." She grinned and followed Norman into the room with the battlefield.

Aurora gave the door one last look before going through the doors to the bleachers.

* * *

Vivian and Norman were ready for battle, Altaria perched next to Aurora as she wasn't going to fight today and Vulpix had been recalled into her Poké Ball.

"Let's go, Slakoth!"

"Enchant, Sylveon!"


	7. Chapter 6: Fighting for a Start

Sorry for the huge delay. August was a really busy time for me. And then I was denied access to my account. But here is the latest installment to Delta Emerald!

First off, thank you The 6th Spectral King for reviewing once again.

Let's go!

* * *

 **Chapter 6:** Fighting for a Start

Aurora was sitting in the stand on Vivian's right side, waiting for the battle between Vivian and Norman to start. Altaria had perched herself next to Aurora on the railing that separated the field from the stand. Earlier, Vivian had made the decision to have Altaria sit this battle out because Altaria was simply too powerful to fight in a first Gym battle.

Aurora was curious to see what Norman would use for strategy. She didn't worry at all about types; her Pokémon were strong enough that it wouldn't be an issue. What she did worry about was the fact that counter strategies would be able to derail her battle style. She was not new to adapting her style to make the battle fall in her favor, but she was more comfortable with her normal strategies.

She settled herself, leaning on the railing with Riolu standing in between her shoulder blades and leaning on her head. Riolu wanted to watch the battle and this was the best spot that he had been able to find. Besides, this way he could hide behind his mother if it became too scary. His tail started moving from side to side because he was so excited.

"Riolu, I don't mind that you're standing on my shoulders, but hit me with your tail and I'll do the same to you." Riolu stopped wagging his tail abruptly and stood still. He was leaning on his mother's head when her hand came up and softly scratched his ear, so he knew his mommy wasn't mad at him. Riolu was all set to watch.

Leafeon was out of his Poké Ball too for the simple fact that he wanted to support his new friend, Sylveon. After their fight on the thing that floats in water, he and Sylveon had become good friends. He just wanted to support her when she fought her first major battle under the command of her new Human. Really, that was it, he told himself.

Aurora and her companions listened to the announcements of the Pokémon that would be fighting, being released by their respective Trainers. They focused their full attention to the field and what would happen shortly.

* * *

The Pokémon on the flat battlefield weren't moving a muscle, standing like statues. They were staring at each other, trying to intimidate the opponent. Neither of them was giving the other an inch.

The referee called out through the Dojo-like Gym.

"This is the fight between the Petalburg Gym Leader Norman and aspirant Leader Vivian Evergreen from Snowbelle City. Are you both ready?"

He looked at the two participants of the battle and when they both nodded at him, the referee continued.

"The battle is a 2 versus 2. No time limit and only the challenger is allowed to switch in between rounds. Round one is between Slakoth and Sylveon. Begin!"

The referee flagged and Vivian took the lead. With a flourish, she pointed across the field to the opponent's Pokémon.

"Sylveon, use Swift!"

The pink Eeveelution cried out as she charged up her Swift. She opened her mouth and once again dozens of golden stars flew out of her mouth. The stars rapidly approached the Slakoth who was lounging on his spot, not moving away from the rapidly approaching stars.

Norman would be the first to admit that he had never seen another Sylveon before. He had heard of them, sure. But seeing one in real life was different. He knew that it was another evolution of Eevee and that it was one of the slower Eeveelutions.

He would try his best to fight back, but he knew that winning was not going to happen this fight; her Pokémon were just too strong for that to happen. However, he could weaken the Eeveelution to a degree that would make it hard for his challenger to focus.

He needed to unbalance her fighting style. He knew what to do and with a grin, he implemented his plan.

"Slakoth, use Yawn!"

Just before the stars of Sylveon's Swift hit, Slakoth yawned loudly. Sylveon heard and saw the yawn. She tried her hardest to not yawn and stay awake, but she couldn't contain her own yawn from coming out of her mouth.

Slakoth was hurt badly by the onslaught of dozens of stars that had hit him head on. Vivian needed to finish this round quickly before the annoying sloth could move again.

"Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!" Vivian called out swiftly, hoping her Pokémon had enough time to pull the move off.

The pink vixen glowed with her tell-tale pink light and the winds started whipping around her body. Swinging her head, Sylveon whipped her ribbons around and she released the Fairy Wind in several layers. The layers of wind charged at the Slakoth who could do nothing due to his Truant Ability, which only allowed him to attack every now and then.

The winds hit hard and the Slakoth was picked up and slammed back into the ground three feet back. The impact was hard enough for the sloth to faint.

"Slakoth is unable to battle. The round goes to Sylveon!" The referee called out and the first round was over.

* * *

Norman knew this would be a fast battle, but two hits? Just two hits had been enough to make his Slakoth faint and he didn't expect that. He thought that it would at least take four hits or three higher powered ones. He could see that she had some high powered Pokémon. Norman recalled his Slakoth with a sigh.

He looked at the celebrating girl on the other side of the field and scoffed. He grabbed his next Poké Ball.

"Good job, Vivian! Sylveon, that were some great attacks! Keep fighting!" Support came from Aurora, who was clapping softly on the stands. Riolu was mimicking his mother again, something that Vivian normally didn't like, but she did appreciate Riolu's mimicking at this moment.

"Thanks, will do." Vivian focused her attention back to the field after she had given her supporters a quick wave.

Leafeon cried out loudly in support when Sylveon successfully made her opponent black out. Apparently, Sylveon had heard him because she turned to him and yipped her thanks to him. Leafeon nodded proudly to her.

Sylveon had trouble with staying awake. Even now, she needed to force herself not to yawn.

Norman threw his next Pokémon on the field. Vivian recognized the Pokémon that was now opposing her; the Zigzagoon that had been loaned to Wally. She hadn't seen the raccoon in action before, so she needed to be on her toes.

Surprises could pop up at any time.

"Round two is between Zigzagoon and Sylveon. Begin!" The referee flagged again and the battle had started.

"Sylveon, use Swift again!" Vivian was confident and it showed.

Sylveon started again to charge up the stars when her eyelids dropped and she fell over. Now asleep on the ground, Sylveon was completely helpless.

Norman was gratefully making use of the confusion the sleeping Eeveelution caused.

"Zigzagoon, use Tackle!" He yelled, pointing gleefully with his finger at Vivian's Pokémon.

The Zigzagoon wasted no time and sprinted as fast as she could towards her opponent. Zigzagging all the way to gain the most speed, she ran to Sylveon.

"Sylveon, get up! You need to fight against the sleep. Wake up!" Vivian shouted frantically. She had briefly forgotten about the Yawn attack that Slakoth had gotten off.

Sylveon wasn't close to waking up when Zigzagoon slammed into the pink fox. The raccoon jumped back a few paces to create some space between them.

"Good, Zigzagoon. Now use Headbutt!"

Zigzagoon went in for the ordered Headbutt. Just before she hit the Sylveon, the Eeveelution woke up and jumped back toward Vivian. Quickly charging up the last attack that her Human had ordered, Sylveon shot her golden stars toward the incoming raccoon.

Zigzagoon was running the short distance toward her opponent when she was intercepted by Sylveon's projectiles. The raccoon Pokémon was grazed by the sharp stars and gave a grunt of pain. Zigzagoon quickly got back on track and started her run up again. As soon as she came close her opponent, she jumped to gain a little extra speed.

Sylveon saw the raccoon coming and just sidestepped the incoming Pokémon without any effort.

The Zigzagoon laid stunned on the floor; crashing on the ground headfirst hurt quite a bit. She stood up, wiggling her snout to see if there was any damage done to her nose. She was distracted enough that Vivian was able to give the follow-up order before Zigzagoon could execute Norman's other order.

"Sylveon, use Draining Kiss, if you please." Vivian was now standing relaxed in her designated spot. It was weird to stand on the other side of the field. She was no longer trying to defend her spot but was now the one who had to attack to succeed. It felt off to her, somehow, to be the challenger.

Sylveon had no reservations and gave her signature wink before blowing her kiss to the Zigzagoon. The vivid pink heart appeared and flew toward the raccoon with amazing speed.

The raccoon had just turned around to face the blue-eyed Pokémon when she was hit with the floaty pink thing. Zigzagoon didn't get the chance to see what exactly hit her before she blacked out.

"Zigzagoon is unable to continue to battle. Sylveon is the winner. The match goes to the challenger: Vivian Evergreen of Snowbelle City."

* * *

Norman just recalled his Pokémon. "You did a good job, Zigzagoon, I'm proud of you."

He had expected this outcome from the start. Vivian looked like a very capable Trainer, even if she had been really nervous at the start of the battle. The way she took charge indicated that she had learned that she needed to take control over the battle, but it didn't seem as if it was second nature to her yet. Moreover, she didn't seem at ease with the offensive battle style she had used.

Vivian was probably more comfortable with a more defensive battle style if her Sylveon was her go to Pokémon. In fact, Altaria were also very defensive Pokémon. They tanked the hit and then dealt out their own damage.

He walked up to the happy Trainer and her Sylveon. He saw that the Altaria that belonged to his challenger had already flown over to envelope her Trainer in a big, fluffy hug.

Vivian laughed in delight. The first part was over, she had won her first approval badge from Norman and it felt good. It was the easiest part, but she was one step closer to being able to call herself a Gym Leader. She saw Aurora approaching and with her Leafeon and Riolu came bouncing over. Leafeon walked to Sylveon to congratulate her and ignored Vivian completely.

"Good job. You are now a fifth on the way to reaching a lifetime stuck in a building." Aurora was teasing Vivian. The girls were laughing at the irony; Vivian was used to being stuck in Laverre for about six years and was going to be stuck indoors at hopefully her own Gym as soon as possible. Only this year was she free to do as she pleased.

"Indeed, you are on your way, Miss Evergreen. Although I have to ensure you, we are not stuck in our Gym buildings; they're merely our home base." Norman's eyes glinted with amusement at Aurora's quip. She at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed at Norman's gentle scolding. He turned to address his latest challenger, who was standing looking at him with an open expression.

"I'll admit that you're a fine battler, but you didn't seem comfortable with being the first to attack. If I'm right, you are not used to being the aggressive one, are you?"

Norman nailed it right on the head. Vivian looked down to the ground. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not. Is it really that obvious?" Vivian was afraid to hear the answer Norman would supply.

"No, not really." Norman crossed his arms before elaborating. "To the unpracticed eye, you are confident enough in that more aggressive battle style, but to people who actually pay attention to you, the inexperience in the style is crystal clear."

Vivian grimaced; she had been trying to copy Aurora's fast paced battle style. Aurora took charge of the battle as fast as she possibly could and then refused to give her advantage up. Aurora's Pokémon relied on their speed and the possibility to lower the opponent's speed, evading attacks and fast hitting attacks that could be chained into each other. Not relying on defense at all. Why take damage if you could avoid it, after all?

Vivian, however, had Pokémon that were better defensively; they were better in getting hit and then launching big attacks from point blank. She wasn't able to fight like Aurora. She never had been able to fight with Aurora on an even level. Not after her friend became more confident, thanks to Shuppet being just his lovable self.

Vivian Evergreen didn't have the same flair for battles as Aurora Lockwood had, and she needed to come to terms with that. Even though it hurt like hell to admit.

"I know. I needed to test it out before I get stuck in my usual style and regress." Vivian gave this as an explanation to the Normal-type Gym Leader. Norman accepted it, but Aurora raised an eyebrow at Vivian. She didn't believe the crap Vivian was sprouting at the moment.

"At least you did better than the last one that came to this Gym to fight for approval." Norman nodded pleased to himself.

"THE LAST ONE!?" Vivian shrieked loudly.

Aurora's hands had immediately come up to protect her ears as she flinched at the harsh sound Vivian produced. As soon as the ringing in her ears stopped, she would throw a few choice words at Vivian. Not the least for hurting her own ears.

Riolu hadn't liked the blonde girl's shriek either and was now tearing up at the pain his sensitive ears were in. His mommy grabbed him from the ground to cradle him to her and was now soothing his hurt ears by humming a soft lullaby in his ears while stroking his head. Riolu was slowly feeling better when the loud girl opened her mouth again.

"Sorry, but I never expected that there are others that are competing for the same spot as I am." The blonde apologized to the people and the Pokémon that had been the unfortunate victims of her outburst. Neither Leafeon nor Sylveon did appreciate the blonde's shriek.

"Surely, you were informed that as a newly established Gym there would be a competition to determine a new Gym Leader? Only older Gyms have someone to take over the position when the Gym Leader is ready to retire. In fact, the deadline for getting all the approvals is set in six months from now." Norman informed Vivian.

The girl did not take it well. Her nerves that had settled nicely after hearing about the simply badge winning session that was required, but now they were flaring up again. Either Valerie forgot to inform her or purposely didn't inform her of the possibility that she was not the only one in the race to become the next Hoenn Gym Leader. Or that there was a time limit to force her to keep up with her journey.

"Either way, you have one your first badge of approval, so here is your own Balance badge." Norman handed over his badge to Vivian who took the small object in her hands.

Looking at the barbell-shaped badge, Vivian felt more nervous than she had ever been before. Now, it was real; she had completed her first step of many in order to become a Gym leader, only to learn that her dreams could be shattered easily if she even let up the littlest bit.

She thanked Norman for their fight and together with her Pokémon left the building, deep in thoughts. Aurora followed after her friend after confirming that her fight was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

* * *

Later that day, as the girls laid in bed ready to sleep, Vivian started talking to Aurora.

"Do you think that Valerie didn't tell me those things on purpose?"

Aurora looked over the edge of the higher bunk bed to give Vivian the evil eye for daring to disturb her while all she wanted to do was going to sleep. She relented after she saw Vivian's pleading eyes.

"No, I don't think she would do that. It is not well known what the requirements are for a Gym Leader of a new Gym, even for people that actually have jobs that are involved with these kinds of things. In fact, the only thing I know of for Kalos Gym takeovers is that a successor of an established Gym has to apprentice at least for five years with that Gym, like my dad. Or the one taking over has a family tie to the previous Gym Leader, like Korrina." The girl's teal eyes were narrowed when she was trying to recall everything she knew about Gyms and their weird ways of succession.

Vivian thought about it and it was exactly what she had heard from Valerie herself about the subject before. The blonde girl was lying on her bed with Mime Jr. lying above her head and Altaria had nestled herself on Vivian's stomach. Even Sylveon was lying on Aurora's bed, curled up with Vulpix hopeful for a good night's rest. The pink Pokémon enjoyed the fire fox's warmth.

"Aren't the rules the same across every region?" Vivian had to ask. Due to coming from Kalos and having expected to stay there to take over the Laverre Gym, Vivian had never researched the rules of the other regions in regards to passing down Gym titles. In the month that Vivian had had to prepare, there simply hadn't been enough time to do it.

"I don't think that every region follows the same procedure in identical ways. There haven't been any cases of new Gyms popping up in the last twenty years if you don't count the passing of title in Unova from Lenora to the new guy," Aurora supplied helpfully.

"Passing of titles?" Vivian had heard of the concept before, but it was never explained to her.

"A friend of mine from Unova told me about it. Mara said that Lenora, the Gym Leader of Nacrene City, passed her title and badge to someone else, but he had a different Gym building in another town. That is, according to Mara, the first time something like that happened." Aurora's head was turning a lovely shade of red since she was still hanging upside-down in order to talk to Vivian.

"Get back up before you fall out of your bed and hurt yourself, please." Vivian shook her head at Aurora. Why she did those things, Vivian would never know.

"I never fall out of a bunk bed." Aurora retorted to her friend.

"Then explain why you were on the floor the last time we were in…" Vivian began and was swiftly interrupted by Aurora.

"Goodnight Vivian." Aurora's red face disappeared back up, out her vision and Vivian could hear her friend lie down and Vivian could hear Aurora's breathe even out quickly.

After chuckling quietly, Vivian fell asleep quickly after that.

* * *

"Freak." The crowd started screaming with approval.

"You are absolutely worthless." The screams and the yelling became louder.

"Completely useless. Just like your pathetic Pokémon." Her opponent was walking towards her immobile form. It felt like she was chained to the ground. Her limbs would not respond to her.

"Powerless to save your weak, little Pokémon. See them lying on the field." He was right in front of her and reached to grasp her face. Forcing her to look at the field where her Pokémon were lying battered and bruised, hurt and dying.

"You will never be able to succeed. Never be able to reach your dreams. Never be able to do what you want." She could feel his hand on her face, turning her head to look at his Arcanine who was charging a Fire Blast.

"You should never have entered this tournament. It would have been better for everyone. But I'll fix that." He let go of her and all she saw was the fire that had come to swallow her whole.

Aurora sprang up with a scream stuck in her throat. She could feel her heart pounding painfully in her chest. She could still feel the heat from the flames as she tried to open her eyes. The taunts were ringing in her ears. She succeeded and opened her eyes, only to see darkness. All the small girl could do to keep from crying out, was wrapping her arms around herself tightly. Completely stuck in her dream world, the words washed over her again.

She felt something soft on her lap. The thing was pushing against her with urgency to get her attention and it would not stop before Aurora acknowledged it. Slowly, Aurora came back to the real world to feel Vulpix rubbing her head against her.

As soon as Vulpix noticed that her trainer was coming back to the real world, she started licking her human's face with her warm tongue. Her Human had woken Vulpix with the smell of fear that had emanated from her Human. The nasty odor was now turning back to its natural, comforting fragrance of jasmine and Sitrus berry.

Aurora unwrapped her arms from her body and caressed the red fox on her head. Flashes of the dream she experienced tried to force their way back into her vision. She shook her head trying to clear it from the images but was unsuccessful in her attempt. She got out from the bunk bed she shared with Vivian, careful not to wake Sylveon, and after pulling on some socks and her over shirt, she and Vulpix left the small room. Vivian never woke up during all this.

The girl let her feet take her to the lobby. Vulpix was walking in front of her, looking backward every few steps. When she arrived in the lobby there was another Trainer seated on a bench, closest to the window. Aurora walked to the window, careful not to disturb the guy who was sitting nearby.

She stood there in silence for a few minutes before she heard the Trainer behind her move a little.

"What's wrong?" His voice was deep and gruff. It comforted Aurora, grounded her a little. She was reminded of her uncle somehow. She shook her head and focused her attention back on the other trainer.

"Nightmare." She gave as a response. The silence that followed was somehow heavy. Aurora wasn't eager to break the silence, thinking about her dream. Why did she get that nightmare again? It had been over a year ago that she lost in the finals of the Sinnoh League. It shouldn't still haunt her.

"What could you possibly have nightmares about? Your clothes got dirty or maybe broke a nail or something?" Logan snorted at his own joke.

"No." The answer couldn't shorter if she tried, but it conveyed much emotion. Her voice was raw and shaky as the images, which she had shoved away, made their existence known again. Her right arm came to rest on her left as she leaned on the wall. She let her eyes fall on Logan.

She studied him for a few minutes. His hair was weird. It was blue with dark green lowlights that blended in with the blue, she hadn't seen that before. It reminded her a lot of the ocean. His dark green eyes seemed sharp and narrowed to her, filled with depth and pain as if he had seen too much already. He was dressed in a simple black shirt and pants. His feet were bare. She noticed for the first time that he had a Mightyena lying at his feet. Her Vulpix had curled up on another couch and kept an eye out for her Trainer.

"Logan, right?" Her question threw him off. He nodded at her. She could see that he wasn't exactly comfortable with her staring and turned back around to gaze outside again.

The Chansey on night duty made soft noises in the background as both of the trainers remained quiet.

"You are shivering." Logan noticed suddenly. While the temperature had cooled a little, it was still too warm for someone to start shivering from the cold.

"I guess I am." She acknowledged his statement.

"And I am guessing that it has something to do with your nightmare."

"Yeah." Her answer came easily.

"You don't want to talk about it? The way everyone else seems to be so fond of?" He couldn't help but be snarky at her. He didn't know what to think of her. She had been so different when he met her, fierce and ready to take on someone a foot taller than her just to get her room keys back and now she seemed distracted, to the point she seemed another person. It was unnerving.

"Unless you want to listen to me, which I doubt, there is no reason for me to do as you suggest." It was a logical answer, devoid of emotions. That confirmed Logan's suspicions. Something had happened to her and it hadn't been pretty.

"As long as it isn't a story of how you got your heart broken by some guy you fell in love with, I'm willing to listen."

"It is not a long story or particularly bad, but… the effects of it, on me, were great." She took a deep breath.

"A little more than a month ago I competed in the Sinnoh Conference. The first few rounds were easy and I progressed to the finals in no time. I lost the final round. While my Pokémon were able to put up a good fight and forced him to reveal his entire hand, I lost." She stopped talking to gather the courage she needed.

"That is it? You lost a League Championship?" Logan sounded annoyed with her. She just shook her head.

"No, that is just what happened before the real event." She spun around and looked him right in the eyes. "The Trainer I faced in the final round was a bit of an asshole. He kept going on about the fact that I am female and thus worthless. That I shouldn't even be a Trainer, let alone attempting to take on the League challenge. Nor were my Pokémon good enough for him to fight against." Deep green eyes narrowed even further as their owner listened to the girl in front of him.

"He had only his Arcanine left at the end, the rest too tired to continue. My team had put one hell of a fight, but only Leafeon remained standing. We both knew that it was the end for us. Refusing to give up, we fought against his Arcanine. In the last minute, Arcanine was charging up a fire attack and Leafeon was right in front of me. I called out to him to evade it, get a few extra seconds, but the Arcanine didn't change the direction of the attack even when Banette was no longer there."

Logan paled. Was she serious? There was simply no way that something like that could have happened in an official League battle.

"Leafeon jumped back in front of me and caught the brunt of the attack. I got hurt even after he protected me. The wound has left its mark on me." She gestured to the angry red spot on her upper left arm.

"In my nightmare I was back at the League Stadium of Lily-of-the-Valley. I was unable to move, it felt like I was paralyzed and that jerk of a trainer called me worthless and pathetic. This time, the crowd agreed with him. I saw my Pokémon lying on the field bleeding. Dying. He told me that it would have been better, never to have come there and set his Arcanine to burn me alive. I woke when the flames hit me."

She took a deep breath and continued.

"It has been a month since then and I got over most of it. It is an irrational fear. It was an accident of epic proportions, but not a deliberate act against me. So, why did I have that nightmare? It shouldn't haunt me." Her voice had a raw edge and tears gathered in her eyes. She angrily swiped at them.

The silence returned between the two trainers.

"What about you? Why are you still up?" Aurora was feeling better now that she had gotten it of her chest and got curious about Logan's reason to be in the lobby.

"The past also, I guess." Logan didn't know why he said that. Maybe because she felt familiar to him. She felt safe.

"The past is hard to get over with. Trust me, I know all about it." She sighed wistfully. Her Vulpix jumped on her lap and rubbed her head against Aurora's stomach. She cuddled the small fox against her.

"But hiding behind the past is even worse. My advice is to try to forget what hurt you in the past, but don't forget what it has taught you. It hurts to look back on it, but it will get better in time." She looked at Logan with soft, teal eyes.

Logan thought about and it was sound advice, but could he really do that?

"It was hard the first few days to do that, heck even now it is hard, to follow my own advice. After all, saying it is easy. Actually doing it is hard, but I had faith that I would make it someday. Somehow I know you'll too." Aurora yawned after making her statement. She chuckled in response to it. Logan too seemed amused.

"I guess that it's time for me to go back to bed. See you around." Aurora waved and together with Vulpix she returned to her bed, leaving Logan and Mightyena to their thoughts.

* * *

The day in between Aurora's nightmare and her Gym Battle passed by relatively quiet. Aurora trained for a little while with her Pokémon, but her heart wasn't in it. She kept thinking about her nightmare. Was this future she had come up with, really what she wanted or was she just doing it to prove something to the world, to those who hurt her? She leaned back to rest fully upon the tree she had chosen to sit against. She smiled as she watched over her Pokémon.

Her Pokémon were all around her in the clearing. Metang was lying on the ground, keeping an eye on his teammates and his Trainer. Vulpix was playing with Riolu, sneakily training him to think fast on his feet. Milotic was curled on the ground with her head on Aurora's lap, enjoying her Trainer's gentle hand as it stroked the long aquatic snake's body. Leafeon and Banette were having a play fight, trying to outdo each other in terms of acrobatic stunts.

Aurora loved her Pokémon. She really did, but was battling further the right choice to make? To once again go back into the circuit? She was considered a Veteran Trainer and could retire from being an active Trainer to teach. Teach about battle strategy or about bonds, whatever she wanted. If she wanted that. She could go and study under a Pokémon Professor, maybe focus on the Mythical aspect of her world.

Vivian had an easier time; her future had been set for a while now. Shy, gentle Vivian, the one who was better at healing than hurting. Who would have ever thought that she would become the more accomplished Trainer of the two of them? The one whose future would shine the brightest? Aurora sighed.

She had promised Sidney that she would at least try, but… What if… What if. She just wanted to stop hurting, to stop being in pain all the time. She had been hurt for so long. First the Johto Incident in which she got physically hurt. After she left the hospital, people had kept staring at her fresh scars wherever she went. In the end, she just covered them up, underneath a pair of boots.

Sinnoh had been hell in the winter; her scars had kept on hurting and nothing made it easier. Going to Snowpoint wasn't the best idea she had ever had. Then the Sinnoh Conference came, where she had been mentally exhausted.

She liked to fight in battles with her Pokémon. She had wanted this for as long as she could remember. She wanted to be strong, stronger than people would ever think she was. She wanted to protect the ones she loved. Her Dad, Jenn, Vivian, her Pokémon, and even her crazy ass Mom.

She was still hurting over what had been said to her, about her dreams and future, but it would get better like she had told Logan. She wasn't over it yet, that was a given. She already felt a lot better than she had been before she took the chance to go to Hoenn. She felt like a hypocrite.

Yes, her past wasn't painless, but whose was? Other people were hurt even more and still continued on with their lives. Trying to find their happily ever after. So why couldn't she? Answer: She could move on. She would move on. She had her Pokémon with her, her Dad and Jenn believed in her, and Vivian was here with her.

She took one last look at her Pokémon. Her lips formed a wicked grin. Norman wouldn't know what hit him.

* * *

Vivian was up in the stands, nervously waiting for the match to start. Aurora had sunk back in her depression yesterday. She had refused to speak about it and had left to train early in the morning. When Aurora came back, she was more relaxed and more herself again.

Vivian sighed; it had been too much to ask for Aurora to be better already. Even if they had addressed her worst fears already, it would still take a lot of time to heal fully.

Now her friend was standing on the dirt battlefield. Riolu was at her feet, instructed to stay there and watch. He was not permitted to join the fight. The girl was waiting on the referee to begin the normal spiel. Aurora was guarded today; no emotion was visible on her face. Her eyes were closed, just listening. She was closed off to the outside world. The girl in the stands was worried.

Vivian petted her Altaria with one hand while she was clutching the railing with the other.

She noticed that the red-haired girl had changed her stance and was now reassuring her little Fighting-type.

Aurora had come out of her meditation when she felt Riolu trying to climb her leg. He was worried when she had suddenly pulled her emotions in, leaving him in the dark and scared. His Mommy shouldn't feel empty; it wasn't who she was. She was warm and happy. She was where he felt safe. He felt his eyes tear up a little.

His mommy scooped him up and gave him a wicked smile, before tickling his tummy. He could feel her again and she was back to normal. As he was set on her shoulder, he held a tight rein on his mommy's emotions. He wouldn't be caught unaware again.

Aurora surveyed the field: dirt flooring and medium size. Enough space to fight with Metang if she needed to, but small enough that space for dodging was limited. She would have to go either in the air or underground if she were to maximize her options.

Norman looked at the girl standing on the other side of the field. She was behaving like he expected, calm, collected, and ready to fight. Truly a Trainer who had a lot of experience with the system. He couldn't wait to see her fighting with her Pokémon.

Both Trainers released their Pokémon out to the field.

"Shine, Vulpix!"

"Let's go, Spinda!"

"This is the fight between the Petalburg Gym Leader Norman and Trainer Aurora Lockwood from Snowbelle City. Are you both ready?"

There was no staring match this time, both of the Trainers fully focused on the battle in front of them.

Aurora gave the referee a smile before she once again focused on the battlefield.

The referee looked at Norman and when he nodded sharply at him, the referee continued.

"The battle is a 3 versus 3. No time limit and only the challenger is allowed to switch in between rounds. Round one is between Spinda and Vulpix. Begin!"

"Vulpix, use Flame Charge!" Like Vivian had done before Aurora took charge and started off fast.

Her faithful fox sped off towards her opponent. The flames of her attack grew with every step she took. In no time at all, the flames were almost double her size as she came near the Spinda.

"Spinda, use Psybeam!" Norman called out; he needed to keep the fox away from his Pokémon.

His Spinda reacted in time to charge up the Psybeam and shot it at the fox at close range. Too bad that this is what usually happened to Vulpix when she used the attack and she just flared her fiery aura, letting the incoming Psybeam dissipate on the flames.

The next thing that happened was Vulpix slamming into the shocked Spinda, who flew a short distance and landed in front of his Trainer's feet. Norman looked at his Pokémon and was shocked to see the damage that was done with one single attack.

He looked at the girl and her Vulpix. There was no sign of cockiness or arrogance on their faces. They knew what they had done and how to finish it. His Spinda got up on his wobbly feet and slowly spun back to his original position.

"Extrasensory." That was the order for Spinda's execution. Aurora's voice rang out over the battlefield in a calm, steady motion.

Vulpix's soft brown eyes glowed an eerie blue in an instant. Spinda was lifted off the ground and cried out in fear. Then with the power of Vulpix's attack, Spinda was slammed hard into the ground. He did not rise again.

"Spinda is unable to continue to battle. Vulpix wins this round."

* * *

The call from the referee came as a blessing for Norman, who had been stunned by the casual display of pure power. Spinda's attack had been shrugged off like it had been nothing. Norman recalled Spinda and clenched his teeth. He had a feeling that she had even more powerful Pokémon on hand. He was keen to find out. If she could beat his next Pokémon with the same ease, he would have to up his game.

"Good job, Miss. Lockwood. Let's see, if you can beat this Pokémon. Let's go, Vigoroth!"

Aurora raised her eyebrow. A Vigoroth? She had to be careful. They were strong and fast, but she could exploit the weakness they had. Riolu was making happy cries on her shoulder. She looked at her Pokémon on the field.

"Vulpix, can you handle another fight?" Her little vixen responded with a loud chirp and sat on the floor as she yawned. "Okay, girl, then get ready."

"Round two between Vigoroth and Vulpix. Begin!"

This time Aurora let Norman take the first move. She had a plan in mind that would annoy Norman. She was so going to enjoy this.

"Vigoroth, use Slash!" Norman was worried when his opponent did nothing to hinder his Pokémon in his pursuit to damage Vulpix.

Vigoroth felt that something was off, very off. The Vulpix in front of him didn't seem dangerous, but he knew not to judge by sight alone. That fact she wasn't moving told him that she did not see him as a threat.

Vulpix just yawned. She trusted her Human completely and would happily wait for the command to come so she didn't have to hurt the monkey on her own violation.

As soon as the white monkey was within the right range Aurora finally called out to the Vulpix.

"Use Will-o-Wisp." It was a soft call, just loud enough for Vulpix to hear. The Vulpix didn't react outwardly. Just her eyes started to glow again with the same eerie blue color they had been when she uses her psychic move. She opened her maw to let out a snarl as six flames appeared around her small body. Blue flames.

The Vigoroth ran straight in them and howled in pain as singed fur was able to be seen shortly after he passed through the blue flames. Vulpix neatly sidestepped the monkey as he barreled on to reach her.

"Flamethrower, Vulpix. Finish it," Aurora's command cut straight through the cries the Vigoroth was emitting.

Vulpix neatly executed the fire attack straight in the Vigoroth's back and he, too, was down for the count.

"Vigoroth is unable to fight. Vulpix wins this round!" Referee shouted. He liked the speed with which things were going.

* * *

Norman, on the other hand, felt more like crying. This was the second time this match, that his Pokémon was so easily taken out. He just recalled his Vigoroth and grabbed the last Pokémon he had planned to use for this match. He really had no hope for this Pokémon to succeed where his others had failed, but at least he could say he tried.

"Okay, Linoone. You're up."

"Thank you for your hard work, Vulpix. Have a good rest." Norman's head snapped up. She was going to use another Pokémon. Which one would it be? And how much stronger was this one?

The girl made no haste as she unclipped another Poké Ball off her belt and threw it out on the field.

"Shine, Milotic!" The gorgeous aquatic snake appeared with a cry of contentment.

"Are you up for a fight, girl?" The Milotic nodded to her Trainer and curled up, ready to strike.

"Go, Aurora! Go, Milotic!" Aurora could faintly hear the encouraging sounds coming from Vivian. They only served to fire her up even more.

"Round three between Linoone and Milotic. Begin!"

"Headbutt, Linoone, and fast!" Norman was feeling desperate to just get a hit in. Hopefully, with Linoone's greater speed he would at least be able to say he had damaged Miss. Lockwood's Pokémon.

His Linoone could hear the urgency in his voice, as he sped off at the greatest speed he had. He was kicking up sand as he sped over the floor toward the coiled snake.

"Icy Wind! Freeze the floor!" Aurora shouted, finally feeling excited. Too bad that this battle was over already.

Milotic gave a cry as she swept her tail in a sideway arch in front of her. Ice crystals were forming in its wake and then they were shot at the floor in between Milotic and the speeding Linoone. The Linoone was caught by surprise as he felt the cold wind biting, coming from the annoying snake.

Linoone's paws lost their traction on the floor and he slipped. He slid further, crashing to the right of his opponent. Linoone got back on his feet and was surprised by a sudden sweep of the snake's tail. An Aqua Tail right to the face really hurt and then crashing in the wall hurt even more. As he felt himself slamming into the wall, he gave a squeak.

Still, Linoone would not give up.

"Linoone! Are you alright?" Norman was happy with the challenge, but he was surprised with just how in sync the girl and her Pokémon were. That plan was executed perfectly. The girl had banked on the fact that he would want to attack first and fast and then countered it. Freezing the floor and taking advantage of his Pokémon's confusion. All this in a matter of seconds.

As he saw his Linoone stand up, soaked in the water of his opponent's attack, his legs trembling under the weight of his own body, Norman couldn't help but marvel at the sheer strength of these two girls.

"Milotic, finish it with Disarming Voice!" The Milotic didn't waste a moment and opened her mouth to unleash her siren-like song. The second the sound started pink waves of hearts flowed out onto the battlefield.

"Linoone, use Fury Swipes! Destroy the hearts!" His Linoone reared to his full length and his claws started to rake through the hearts at an alarming rate. It allowed the Rush Pokémon a few precious seconds to gain his sight back.

It was a shame really that he couldn't see the next attack rushing toward him. The Dragon Breath knocked him back into the wall and that was the end of the battle.

"Linoone is unable to continue fighting. Milotic wins this round and thus the winner of this fight is Aurora Lockwood of Snowbelle City!"

Cheers were heard from the stand as Aurora heard those amazing words. She had won her match.

* * *

Norman smiled as he handed the official League Badge to his latest challenger. The girl had surprised him with the strength her Pokémon had. Although he could have guessed that her Pokémon were too strong for a simple third badge battle. Her friend had done the same thing after all.

He looked on as the two girls celebrated the victory that Aurora had obtained.

Those two would go far if they continued on this path.


	8. Chapter 7: Never too Far

I'd like to thank The 6th Spectral King of his continued support and all the readers who took the time to read my story.

Thanks to school starting up again I will have limited time to write so updates will be slow and random until I manage to find a balance.

* * *

 **Chapter 7:** Never too Far

Yesterday was a lot of fun. At least, that was if you asked Aurora Lockwood. The girl was humming happily while she was waiting in the lobby of the Pokémon Center of Petalburg City. In her hand, she had the Balance Badge that she had won the day before.

Banette was standing in her shadow, waiting for the opportunity to freak out his Trainer's friend. His Trainer's backpack provided an excellent spot to hide. The prankster had been waiting for a good moment to pick up his favorite pastime: scaring his Trainer's friends. Oh, he remembered when they were in the cold region for the first time. He had popped up behind the dark-haired girl – the one his Trainer went fishing with when his Trainer caught Milotic – when she had been distracted. She had screamed so loud that everyone had looked at her. The girl had been so embarrassed! Even though he had been scolded by his Human, she could never stay mad at him. Ah, good times.

Aurora knew her loyal ghost was scheming, but couldn't gather the energy to find out what Banette was planning. Knowing him, he would be out to scare Vivian again. The beanie-wearing girl just rolled her eyes. He would never stop and it wasn't as bad as Dedenne had been with his 'accidental' shocking. Those shocks from the rat actually hurt like hell. At least Banette wouldn't go any further than spooking people.

It was no wonder that Riolu didn't take a liking to the electric mouse. His mother-figure didn't like the mouse either. Aurora thought about it a bit. She sincerely hoped that Dedenne had grown up in the time she had been away. Otherwise, she was going to get shocked again. The prankster mouse would have to watch out for his tail, in that case.

She put her badge away with a sigh; Vivian was taking longer than expected. She really shouldn't have been surprised by it. Vivian was a good and reliable friend, but often she would forget that Aurora was a little more concerned with time management and would like to leave sooner rather than later. She probably wasn't used to being on the road again either.

She gave a loud sigh as she spotted Viktor making his way to her once again. Aurora saw him and his posse coming and just waited. She had nothing to say to him. He stopped a few feet in front of her and was trying to intimidate her using his superior height. She just raised a slender eyebrow.

"If it isn't my little lady. I thought I saw the little miss yesterday. Is she here too?" His voice wasn't pleasant to hear and Aurora pulled a face at the taller guy. He saw that as a sign she was scared.

"What is wrong, little coordinator? Afraid of little old me?" His posse started chuckling. Viktor seemed to like what was happening and stood taller.

Aurora didn't miss a beat to nip this fight in the butt or to fan the flames. Either was a perfectly good solution to her. She would prefer a fight. Fanning the flames it was, then.

"No, your voice reminds me of the sound of nails on a chalkboard." Aurora was acutely aware that it might have been a bad idea to insult him, but she was done hiding behind a front of politeness. If he wanted a fight, she was going to deliver. As the chuckles died down, Aurora saw the anger build on the face of Viktor's face in front of her by the way his cheeks turned nicely red.

"You really shouldn't have done that," one of the followers commented. Aurora just shrugged.

"If I can reach the finals of a League Championship, I can take someone who is being an asshole to me. After all, I have done nothing to him that warrants such behavior toward me." She was right and they knew it too. It didn't mean that they would honor it, but Aurora wasn't above forcing them to leave her alone.

"I suggest that you leave me alone from now on and then I'll pretend this never happened. Otherwise, I'll make your life miserable every time I see you. This I promise you." Before Viktor could make a move in his anger at her promise, Banette was in his face with an angry expression on his face. The sudden appearance of the Pokémon scared the crap out of him.

Of course that was the moment Vivian came around the corner, only to stumble upon the sight of Banette scaring someone she knew very well and Aurora smirking as it happened. Aurora noticed her friend and she pointed at Viktor.

"In my defense, he started it." Vivian just face palmed.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Vivian. He started it. Banette was only protecting me from him. It was not just one of his scare-jokes. I admit that I was being a smartass, but he was insulting me. You know how Viktor is." Aurora was pouting at her friend, who was walking beside her, but wouldn't look at her. Altaria was flying above them, keeping out of the way yet being nearby and Banette was once again shadow hopping in the shadows alongside the road. The silence was deafening.

"You know what, Vivian. Fine. Don't believe me. Take his side." Aurora had had it. Just because Banette wouldn't stop scaring Vivian for his own enjoyment didn't mean she was the aggressor every time someone was angry at her. Sure, she had been annoying in the past, but she and Banette had grown up a lot. She didn't pick fights when she could avoid them. Aurora sped up and started walking faster to the western gate of Petalburg City, letting out a few curse words and kicking the gateway, as soon as she reached it.

"Excuse me! Let me guess, from the way you're dressed, you're a Pokémon Trainer?"

Aurora turned around to face a man, who obviously enjoyed life since he wore an oversized, light blue Hawaiian shirt. She could see a red PokéNav hanging around his neck and he was wearing sunglasses. She just raised her eyebrow at him. She slowly replied to him.

"What tipped you off? The fact that I have Poké Balls on my belt or that I'm prepared to travel to another City?" Aurora was curious about the dude, but all she wanted was to leave to the next city and Vivian was annoying her greatly.

"Hehe… Sorry. You don't seem like a rookie. But the only ones in Petalburg City, this time a year, are new Trainers who haven't heard of Norman's policy regarding first Gym Badge battles." The man rubbed his chin in thought.

"You mean the whole 'I am so strong, I don't need to deal with rookies' spiel he has going on?" The guy nodded at her to confirm he was talking about that. She just shrugged.

"I have already beaten Norman in an official Gym Battle. So, I am going for the Rustboro badge as my second one. I hope that the gym won't be that busy." In the time that it had taken the man and Aurora to get this far in the conversation, travelers from the harbor started coming in. The man stepped closer to Aurora to avoid being trampled by the crowd.

"Your second Gym Badge, eh? I hope you will have a spectacular battle." He looked over his glasses to see her looking down contemplatively.

"I certainly hope the gym leader will give me a good fight." Aurora replied slowly.

"Maybe it will be worthwhile to keep an eye on you. I'm roaming the land in search of talented Trainers, but I'm sorry to have taken your time. You must be very busy." He inclined his head towards her and left, straight back into Petalburg City.

She watched him go. She really didn't know what to think of him. Who watches for talented trainers? And for what cause?

She shrugged and called for Banette to join her on the surface. He appeared from her own shadow and she had to stifle a laugh, when she saw some of the incoming trainers get spooked by his sudden appearance.

"Ready to go to the next city?"

Banette stuck his tongue out and quickly went into the shadows of the trees. Vivian approached and said something about the situation.

"Well, he was… creepy to say the least. Who watches for talented Trainers? And for what cause is he watching Pokémon Trainers?" Vivian felt worried for Aurora. As she turned to take a look at her friend, she could only see Banette shadow diving back to his Trainer. Aurora was still not happy with Vivian and had moved on to Route 103. Vivian sighed; maybe she had jumped to conclusions again.

But Banette still joked around way too much.

* * *

The girls had forgiven each other later that day and everything went back to normal. They camped out during the nights and traveled during the day as long as the sun was in the sky. The girls switched out the Pokémon every day to allow them to travel with them.

It had been the evening of the third day when they left Petalburg City. Aurora was cooking and Vivian was out to get some firewood and extra water that Aurora received a video call. The girl quickly checked who it was and took the call, after making sure the stew wouldn't burn.

A young man not that much older than her appeared on the screen of the Xtransceiver. The man's eyes were quite amused as they took in the expression on the girl's face.

"Good evening, Riley!" Aurora smiled happily at the screen and gestured off-screen for Riolu to come closer.

"Good afternoon, Aurora. How are you doing?" Riley grinned at her through the screen,

Aurora smiled at the man who she had spent a lot of time with, in Sinnoh. He had become a good friend to her and she owed him for giving her the egg that contained Riolu.

"I'm doing better than that I have expected that I would be doing. I already won my first Hoenn badge a few days ago." She gave Riley a serene smile and flushed a little when she remembered something.

"I'm sorry that I've forgotten to call when I reached Hoenn. I had a lot to deal with. Please forgive me?" Aurora pleaded with her friend. He just laughed at her. He shook his head at the clear attempt to get him to pity her.

"Of course, you are forgiven. You already have your first Hoenn badge? That is surprisingly quick, within two weeks, right? How is your friend doing?" Riley questioned her.

"Yeah, my first badge is the Barbell Badge from Petalburg City. The Gym Leader, Norman, was really good about it, since normally I would have had to start from the bottom." She gave a bright smile.

"I'm glad to have it out of the way and…" Aurora trailed off, not knowing how to tell what she wanted to say. She was interrupted by her youngest Pokémon, who had decided that he wanted to know who was talking. Riolu had seen his mommy used the thing on her wrist before when his… aunt had called. He was curious to see who was on the screen this time.

"Who is the little one who is making the screen shake?" Riley had been able to see her screen shaking around and had caught a glimpse of a blue furred paw. Aurora had felt Riolu tugging on her wrist and pulled the little dog toward her while angling her wrist so that Riley could see both Trainer and Pokémon at the same time.

"This little one came from the egg you gave me, but I'm sure you already knew that. Riolu, say hi to my friend; we helped each other out a while ago." She gave her youngest Pokémon a smile, as he waved at Riley. Riley waved back at him and Riolu laughed happily. Aurora shooed her Pokémon off to go play again and turned back at the screen on her wrist.

"How are you doing, Riley?" Aurora inquired the dark-haired man as she stirred the stew she was preparing.

"I'm fine. Iron Island has calmed down a lot, so Lucario and I are just focusing on training right now. However, I have a feeling that you might get into trouble." Riley frowned as he tried to think of why he felt like that.

"Of course." Aurora felt her irritation rise but keep focused; she had rarely heard him say something like that and be wrong about it.

"You are such a trouble magnet." Riley looked at the girl he had spent so much time with, the one who became his friend and partner whenever there was trouble in the mines.

"Why do you say that?" The girl was a bit worried, she had enough problems already.

"When you told me you were leaving for Hoenn I got a bad feeling and it hasn't abated at all. Something is stewing and I fear you will be in the midst of it." Aurora's eyes widened at that piece of information, before rolling her eyes in annoyance. Trouble really seemed to like her a lot didn't it? Letting out a small huff, she turned back to the screen.

"I'll keep in touch. When I learn something, I'll tell you." Her eyes narrowed again, determined to keep her promise this time.

"Alright, I await your call. And, Aurora?" The girl cocked her head, waiting for Riley to finish his sentence. "Good luck, Tsunami." He then disconnected the call quickly.

She slowly stirred the stew as she stared at the now black screen. Why did she have the feeling that it would start soon? Stupid Riley. He should have kept his mouth shut.

The girl got up and shook her head. There was no use on dwelling on it; all she could do was to be ready for the storm that was apparently up ahead. As she poured the stew in the bowls, Vivian ran back into the small clearing Aurora was in, her arms full of wood. Aurora knew she couldn't stop a storm alone, but she wasn't going to let anybody hurt the ones she called hers. Her mind made up, Aurora welcomed Vivian back and set down the bowls full of hot, steamy food.

As she watched their Pokémon eat their fill and Vivian raving about the simple stew. Aurora felt her heart swell.

* * *

The next day, they reached the infamous Petalburg Woods. Aurora and Vivian decided to take a break before going in the forest and settled next to a small brook that made pleasant sounds as the water trickled by. The girls released their Pokémon to run free for a while so that they would be able to traverse the forest in one go and wouldn't have to camp there. Night meant bugs and Vivian wasn't a fan when it came to dual Poison/Bug types.

Their Pokémon were playing in the grassy field. Sylveon and Leafeon were running around like maniacs, Riolu and Banette were playing mimic with Mime Jr., Metang rested next to this Trainer and Altaria was having trouble finding Dedenne who had hidden himself in her plumage.

The girls were laughing as they kept an eye on their precious teammates. Aurora stroked her Vulpix as she was lying in the grass in between her Trainer and Metang, invisible to the outside world. She had sought out a quiet place and her Trainer and Metang were the calm ones of the pack. So, she laid happily in the shadow that Metang provides, basking in the attention of her Human.

"You know, this is what I like the most about traveling. Seeing new places and discovering more of the wildlife and the ancient history of the regions. It doesn't matter to me what region I am in as long as I can discover new things wherever I go." Aurora laughed as she saw Riolu stumble over his own feet. He still needed to get used to them.

"I don't understand the whole idea of traveling just for traveling. I'd rather have a goal in mind and try to achieve it. Not just walking for days on end. I guess that is a reason why I was so happy to accept Valerie's offer. Because it meant that I had a goal that I could reach and that I could stop wandering around aimlessly." Vivian was staring contemplatively at the last portion of the sea she could see. She was watching the waves roll and crash on the shore. Her hands were fiddling with the hem of her white shirt as she thought about the years in the Laverre Gym.

"I understand where you are coming from, Vivian. When I started traveling on my own, I felt lost. I didn't have a goal in mind. I just wanted to see more of the world and then that became my goal. I wanted to see more to learn more, to listen to others and learn from them. I have met so many people just by traveling. I never had a specific objective in mind and I was able to do as I pleased. No rules, no one to tell me I couldn't spend a week or two in one place. No rush to get to another city." Aurora's eyes sparkled when she was recalling her journeys through the other regions. "I was free."

"Freedom is nice, but what about later in life? What can you do with travel experience alone?" Vivian was curious. She had her head tilted to the side and was gazing at her friend's face. She was trying to find some sort of hint in Aurora's expression that could tell her more about her friend.

"Sometimes, I do things without regards for the consequences. This was one of those times I just went with the flow. However, I met a Pokémon professor that specializes in Pokémon Mythology in Sinnoh when I went to Celestic Town. She seemed to like me and appreciate the fact that I have some knowledge of the myths surrounding our world. I'm considered to be a Veteran Trainer for the fact that I have reached the finals of a Pokémon League. I have options available to me that I wouldn't have had if I had taken on the League challenge time after time. After all, I don't think I would have continued taking the challenge year after year when I was younger if I lost all the time." Aurora had a point; Vivian had to give her friend that.

The girls were startled by the sudden whimpers coming from Vivian's pink Eeveelution. Vivian sprang up to rush over and take a look when Aurora held her back by throwing her arm out in front of her friend. Vivian's green eyes landed on Aurora, who shook her head and pointed towards Sylveon. Sylveon was unable to stand on her left front paw and was now holding it up in the air. A beige-and-green blur was already racing to the Fairy-type Pokémon. The blur turned out to be Leafeon, who had found an Oran Berry to help Sylveon out.

Vivian and Aurora watched their Pokémon eat the berry together, before once again running off, with a warm feeling in their hearts. "They really hit off, didn't they?"

"Yeah. Maybe we will even get a few Eevee cubs later." Aurora so enjoyed the red face Vivian was sporting, but she liked the smile that accompanied it even better.

"I hope so." Vivian smiled as she watched Aurora's and her own Pokémon make more steps in becoming one big family.

* * *

After they had packed up and recalled all their Pokémon except for Leafeon and Altaria, the girls entered Petalburg Forest. Vivian was incredibly happy that the sun wasn't beating down on her head anymore. Aurora couldn't care less about the sun. She had a strange feeling that something wasn't right. She had Leafeon walk a little in front of her to act as a guard. Vivian just looked at her friend weirdly. Vivian thought that the forest was great. Petalburg Woods was as peaceful as a forest could be.

For a long while, nothing happened. Aurora had the PokéNav at the ready and kept looking if they really were going the right direction; she didn't want to spend another minute in these woods if she could help it.

It was around three o'clock when they reached the midway point of the forest. Vivian was exhausted; forests were a pain to walking in with all the rubbish that had heaped up in the course of years. With regular intervals they had had to jump over something, Aurora had tripped over an overgrown branch when she wasn't paying attention, falling flat on her face. Vivian had slipped on a pile of leaves, falling hard on the ground. Leafeon was having the time of his life, happily frolicking in the leaves and the grass, while the two girls were hurt by the same stuff he was playing with.

Aurora rubbed her nose; it was still hurting from when she had fallen over. She was lucky it wasn't broken, just stinging like crazy and probably red from all the rubbing, trying to alleviate the stinging sensation she felt.

Vivian sat down gingerly on a tree trunk, carefully avoiding the sore patch on her bottom. She dug around in her pack to grab her water bottle. Even in the shade of the numerous trees the heat was unbearable sometimes. As she dug out her bottle she saw a man coming her and Aurora's way. He seemed to be looking around for something and maybe he was a bit lost.

"Um… Are you alright, Mister?" Vivian's soprano voice rang out to the man.

"Hm… Not even one to be found around here…" The man was mumbling to himself as he was slowly coming closer to the two girls. He was dressed much like scientist he even had big glasses on his face. What was remarkable about him was the briefcase he carried with him in the woods.

"Sir, have you lost something? We may be able to help you if that is the case." Aurora had walked up to the man and was trying to make him notice her.

"Oh, hello Miss. I'm sorry to ask but have you seen a Pokémon called Shroomish around here. I was told that they are common in these parts." He looked so hopeful to the young girl that Aurora couldn't say no. She thought about it as she pulled out her Pokédex and looked up the Pokémon that the man was talking about.

"Shroomish, the Mushroom Pokémon. Shroomish live in damp soil in the dark depths of forests. They are often found keeping still under fallen leaves. This Pokémon feeds on compost that is made up of fallen, rotted leaves." Aurora's Pokédex recited in its usual mechanical voice.

"Oh, they like dark spots. I'm guessing that they don't come too often into this part of Petalburg Woods then. It's a shame; they are my favorite Pokémon and I was hoping to finally see one in person," The man hung his head. His shoulders slumped in obvious disappointment.

"It seems that the farther we go toward Rustboro City, the darker it becomes. Maybe we will be able to see one a little farther along." Vivian offered. She had the idea that the man had gotten himself lost in the woods in his quest to see a Shroomish with his own eyes.

"How about we travel with you to the exit of the woods and keep an eye out for a Shroomish." Aurora gave the man a subtle hint that they knew he was a bit lost.

"That would be wonderful, I would appreciate it very much if you would do so." The man gave a short bow to the girls and they grabbed their bags and headed together with the man toward the exit marked on Aurora's PokéNav.

* * *

While the girls kept an eye out for the Mushroom Pokémon, they talked with the man. They soon learned that the man's name was Darren and that he was a researcher for Devon Corporation in Rustboro City. He had been sent out to Petalburg Harbor to get a set of papers that they needed in order to finish some parts for the ferry line. Darren had become a bit sidetracked in the woods and admitted that he indeed had gotten himself in a spot of trouble. So, he was very grateful that Aurora and Vivian had come and found him.

Darren found out that both girls had known each other for a long time, they came from Snowbelle City in Kalos, and were on their first journey through Hoenn. Vivian was an aspirant Gym Leader and a fervent user of Fairy-type Pokémon. However, her starter was the shiny Altaria that flew above them gracefully through the trees. He found it very curious that she would use a Pokémon that was weak to her usual Type. She seemed happy enough with the bird that was flying around in the treetops. When he asked her about it, she just replied with a secretive smile. He let the topic rest after that.

Aurora was going to do the Hoenn League Challenge; apparently she had made a bet with someone that she would win this League. He wished her good luck, with the influence of the Gym aspirants stronger Trainers would come for the next two years to challenge the new Leader.

He also learned that both of them weren't exactly stars in finding their way around a foreign forest. At least, they were better than he was.

The girls had an easier time to get through the second part of Petalburg Woods. They made great time and after two and a half hours, they were close to the exit. It really helped that Aurora had the foresight to get a map of the region with GPS otherwise they would have gotten lost in the foreign woods. It was too bad that they still hadn't found a Shroomish.

Vivian was disappointed in the fact that they hadn't found the Pokémon; she was curious to see one as they didn't appear in Kalos and no Trainer that had visited the Laverre Gym ever had one. Something moved in the bushes. The blonde stopped to see if a Pokémon would come out of the bushes, but it remained quiet. Just as she was going to take another step, the undergrowth rustled again.

She couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and crouched next to the bush. As she slowly parted the branches, she felt Aurora and Darren coming to stand next to her, looking over her shoulder.

The parted branches revealed two little Pokémon that looked like mushrooms in brown and green, playing in the grass. They were just chasing each other in complete serenity. As the girls looked at Darren, they could see his brown eyes sparkle and tear up slightly. He noticed them staring at him and he softly shook his head.

Vivian let the bush return into its normal state and got up. Darren gestured them to go to the exit and so they left the Shroomish to play in peace.

"Thank you two so much." Darren began, but Vivian stopped him from talking any further.

"It was pure coincidence; it was nothing special." Vivian gave Darren a soft smile. The reasons why he wanted to see a Shroomish were his own. She didn't need to be thanked for making somebody happy.

* * *

The sweet scene was rudely interrupted. As a man and a woman were arguing in front of them, stopping them from reaching the exit and leaving the woods.

Aurora felt the hairs on her neck raise. She didn't like the fact that they seemed to gesture at her group nor did she like it that she was caught off guard. Riley had warned her a few days ago, yet she had fruitlessly hoped that he had been wrong. She had enough on her mind already.

Now she had to deal with a guy that was dressed like a pirate and a girl in red with a weird black M on the front of her hoodie.

"I was going to ambush you, but you had to dawdle in Petalburg Woods forever, didn't you?" The man seemed smug and a little angry at Darren. Darren, on the other hand, had no clue on what was going on and why the man was so angry at him. The woman elbowed the pirate and stepped forward.

"I am the one you should be worried about." She intercepted and gave the man a glare. He quickly spoke again.

"I got sick of waiting, so here I am!"

Aurora slapped her forehead. No shit, he was here in front of them. If she had ever heard a useless statement, this was it. Vivian shook her head at her friend and Leafeon was ready to launch himself to the pair in order to defend his Trainer and her friends. The Grass-type was standing in front of them in a protective manner.

The man did not seem very amused by Aurora's antics and became really impatient. He got right to the point and singled out Darren. The man even made the classic move to point at him.

"You! Devon researcher!" Darren was wary and shuffled to get behind the two girls that had held him company for the last couple of hours. The woman took over from him and shouted at the poor researcher.

"Hand over those papers!" The goons actually thought that they could demand things from them?

"I will not hand over these papers. Go away. Leave us alone." Darren was holding his ground. He would not give in to demands from these goons. Darren turned to Aurora and Vivian.

"You two are Pokémon Trainers, right? Will you help me out here, please? I know that I'm asking a lot, but…" Darren grimaced as he locked eyes with Aurora.

"Don't worry, Darren. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Just stay behind us. I can take care of it." Aurora gave her answer as she glared at the man who was trying to intimidate them. Vivian nodded reassuringly at Darren as she, too, took on a protective position in front of him.

"Huh? What do you think you're doing? What, you are going to protect him?" The man appeared to be taken aback by Aurora's fierce response. He gave a snarl and opened his mouth again.

"No one who crosses Team Aqua gets any mercy from me, not even two pretty ladies! Come on and battle with me!" He clenched his fist around the Poké Ball he had in his hand and then threw it out to the forest floor in between him and his opponent. The woman sighed and threw her own Pokémon on to the field. Both cried out at the same time.

"Let's go, Poochyena!" Two small gray dog appeared in white light and howled loudly to signal that they were ready for battle.

The girls were gob smacked by the comment and shuddered in revulsion at it.

"Did he just call us pretty? Does he even realize we have stronger Pokémon than he does? Or the fact that we are with more people than he is? Or even that we are his opponents?" Vivian whispered to her friend. Altaria was in a tree watching the train wreck coming in. Her Trainer's friend was nothing to trifle with, something Altaria had learned a long time ago when she was still a little Swablu. The golden bird crooned happily.

"He did call us pretty. I don't think he does any of the other things. You want to deal with this ass or shall I do it? Aurora was still looking a bit aghast, but her expression was quickly turning to heavy irritation. Who the hell did he think he was to threaten the people she was friends with? If she had anything to say about it, he would go down. There was no way she would have to resort to having Leafeon fight with a measly Poochyena after all.

"Eh, go ahead. I wouldn't want to stop you from what you do best." The blonde was grinning and then gave a sad expression. The poor thing, the little Poochyena were going to hurt after Aurora was done. And hopefully, the creeps would back down and go away.

Aurora gave the scumbag and the woman a smile as she stepped in front of Darren and Vivian. She knew exactly which Pokémon was perfect for the job.

"All right, I accept your challenge. Be prepared to lose." Aurora was certain that she would win this fight. The creep would not win. She grabbed Riolu's Poké Ball from her belt and lobbed it onto the forest floor.

"Shine, Riolu."

* * *

Riolu appeared on the floor. He wasn't sure what was going on just yet, but he had heard the word 'shine'. That normally meant that his Teammates were going to fight. But he was in front of his Mommy and Leafeon was standing next to him… That meant he was going to fight!

Riolu looked at Aurora and got a nod of confirmation. He immediately got into a fighting stance and waited for the first command to come. He was excited; his first ever real fight, not a training one against his mommy's friend.

"Poochyena, use Howl and then Bite!" The man was quick to start and yelled at his Pokémon to start. The woman told her Poochyena to stay back.

"Quick Attack, Riolu." Aurora didn't have to say more, Riolu sprang and rushed to the gray dog.

The Poochyena raised his head to the sky to howl but was interrupted by Riolu who bashed into the left side of the gray Pokémon. The Poochyena stumbled away from the force of Riolu's attack but managed to execute his Howl move and he briefly glowed red. However, he was still hurt badly and wasn't moving as freely as he could have.

Riolu had jumped back to create some distance as he had learned from the previous fight he had been in and waited. The Poochyena ran to him. The darker gray paws were kicking up dirt as he gained more speed. His red eyes were narrowed and bore into Riolu's eyes.

Aurora's eyes widened; the little shit was trying to intimidate Riolu. That wasn't going to happen.

"Wait for it and use Counter!" Aurora was done with this fight; Riolu would win this easily.

Riolu just waited until the other Pokémon was close enough and sidestepped the maw from the Bite Pokémon, before slamming his right paw into the stomach of his opponent. The Poochyena flew against a nearby tree and stayed there. Altaria, who had been perched in that tree flew up with an indignant cry.

Riolu had won his first match and was incredibly happy. He bounded to his mommy and jumped up and down in excitement. She scooped him up and held him close, softly caressing his head, but remained silent. She was keeping an eye on the Aqua goon. The Magma woman had recalled her Pokémon quickly and ran off before any of them could respond.

The pirate-like man just recalled his downed Pokémon and glared at her.

"You are crazy strong."

Aurora couldn't repress the snort that came out at that statement. It only served to make the Aqua goon more infuriated and Aurora liked that. Getting angry meant making mistakes.

"Grr…You got some nerve meddling with Team Aqua. Come on and battle with me again. I wish I could say that, but I'm all out of useable Pokémon." At this news, Aurora let out a sigh of relief. It meant that there weren't any other goons around, otherwise he would have called for them.

"I'll have to let you go for today, but don't think this will be the last time that you'll see me around." He gritted his teeth and made a step backward.

"Wait a moment. Why did you want the papers?" Aurora wanted to know if she should expect another attack or if she and Vivian were free to go on with their travels.

"That is for me to know and for you to wonder. I won't reveal the plans of Team Aqua. Now, bye, bye."

The goon rushed to the exit and was out of sight within a minute. Aurora had been grabbed by the arm to stop her from following. Vivian had refused to let Aurora go off and chase the idiot. It would bring nothing but trouble and she had the feeling that they would find a lot of it in Hoenn if this encounter was an indication.

"Whew… That was awfully close." Darren's voice shook both of the girls out of their stupor. Aurora took a deep breath. Team Aqua, huh? She had heard of the criminal team that had run amok in Kanto and Johto called Team Rocket. She had been there in Johto when they tried to lure the boss back in, but she had kept out of that mess. Here it seemed that there was another Team that wanted to stir up trouble. If she could avoid it, she would. Aurora wanted no part in it, what so ever.

"Thanks to you two, that goon didn't get his hands on the plans I'm carrying. Although, I do wonder why he wants these papers. They're nothing special in the first place. Just plans for machine parts." Darren shook his head; it didn't matter anymore. The goon was gone and he still had the papers.

He turned back to the girls, Aurora was now praising her youngest Pokémon and Vivian was talking to her shiny Altaria to sooth the vain Pokémon. He made the decision to help them however he could; they didn't have to help him.

"As my thanks for not only protecting me but also helping me find a Shroomish, I'm inviting you for a tour of Devon. I'll upgrade your PokéNav for you free of charge." Aurora and Vivian were surprised; did it really matter that much to him that they helped him when he was in need of a little help? Aurora was happy to hear about the upgrade and nodded after she had gotten over the shock of the offer. Vivian, on the other hand, was excited to see what kind of things they exactly did at Devon, so she agreed quickly.

"But I have to hurry back to Rustboro; that thug said that they were planning something else in the near future. I can't be wasting anymore time. So, I best go back quickly and keep an eye out for them." Darren mused, knowing that the president had someone waiting for him for when he got out of the woods. Perhaps he could be in time to warn the president.

"All right, Darren. We will see you around then. When we come for the tour, it will probably be after we have battled the Gym Leader." Vivian offered, knowing that she would be worried every minute until she had fought the Gym Leader and earned her Badge of Approval.

Aurora nodded in agreement. It would be better for everyone. After Darren and the girls left the forest, they said their goodbyes. Darren found the man the president had sent pretty quickly and left for Rustboro.

The girls, on the other hand, had no such luck for fast transport and decided to camp at the woods edge for the night. The girls didn't feel completely safe so Aurora had Metang for the night along with Banette. Those two would allow nothing to happen. Comforted by the presence of the Ghost and Steel Pokémon, the girls went to bed.

The day after tomorrow they would reach Rustboro City.

* * *

Little did they know they were spied on the whole time they had been dealing with the goons.

Another grunt from Team Aqua had been observing the fight and reported to her superior.

"...This is the Petalburg recon team checking in. I'm afraid I have to begin with an apology, Mr. Matt... It's not good news... It's not good news... The mission is a no-go... A little something cropped up and got in the way... ...Roger that. ...Got it. Will do. I'll continue investigating that energy we detected." The grunt hung up with a relieved expression. It was never fun to report bad news. Luckily the other grunt, the one who had failed his mission, would get another chance to rectify his mistakes.

She had to smile.

"That girl sure is an amazing trainer, I'd say. I hope she will stay out of our business, otherwise, we'll be having some trouble."

The grunt smiled a little before she returned to her assignment. Work was never over.

* * *

The next day was spend traveling next to a river and so Milotic was left out to enjoy a good swim.

"What do you think?" Vivian was skipping a little up ahead and turned to walk backward as she wanted to talk to her friend.

"About what kind of type the next Gym Leader uses?" Aurora was used to the things her friend did and kept an eye out for obstacles that could prove to be in the way.

"Yeah." Vivian was curious. Kalos had the Gym in Santalune as the recommended Gym to go for your first ever badge and that was a Bug-type Gym. Viola and Valerie had been good friends, so Vivian knew Viola quite well. As she and Aurora traveled to the next city, Vivian was hit by the sudden realization that she knew little about the Gyms in Hoenn.

"Probably rock or maybe ground. Rock is the most common Gym to challenge as your first Gym in a region, as at least two of the starters have a preferable type match up against rock-type Pokémon." Aurora had seen it a few times, Kanto and Sinnoh both had the Rock-type Gyms as their recommended Gyms for that exact reason. That and they were the closest to the place where the starters were given to the new Trainers.

"Really?" Vivian remembered her fight with Grant. She had been extremely lucky to have caught an Azurill and a Flabébé before that fight. They had made it very easy to ensure her victory. If she had had only Swablu, she would have lost.

"Yes, Vivian. I have seen it myself. Rock twice, Flying and Bug. That were the first Gyms I challenged in the other regions." She smiled at Vivian, who was looking thoughtfully.

"Don't worry about it, Vivian. It's only a third Gym match. That should be easy enough for your Pokémon. Just sent in Floette and it will be fine, you know that. And if it is another type, you will manage." Vivian was happy with the faith Aurora had in her. She knew that she and Aurora had grown apart from each other, but now the rift was mending faster than she could ever have expected.

Maybe she should stop worrying about it so much now.

* * *

The next morning, at almost eleven o'clock, the girls reached the gate of Rustboro City. Aurora was tired of sleeping on the floor and all the Magikarp in the goddamn lake improve her mood at all. She never liked the fish to begin with and now they had been splashing her the whole time she had been on the bridge. Luckily, Vivian hadn't fared any better. She, too, had been a victim of the splashing.

Aurora looked up to the sky and was happy to see no clouds anywhere. She would be dry in half an hour anyway so she could forgive the fish for playing a little on a hot day.

What was annoying were the angry voices that came from the direction of the Pokémon Center.

Why was one of them so familiar?

* * *

If you liked the scene with Leafeon and Sylveon, Please check out Deneca who wrote the scene, I just butchered it.


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting the Spider

Hi, everybody!

I am so sorry for the long wait. University took so much of my attention that I just couldn't find the time to actually sit down and just write. Luckily, things have winded down a bit and I could write the last half of this chapter. I hope you will enjoy it.

And of course, I would like to thank everyone who supports this fic by reading it and those who review, fav and follow me.

Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8: Meeting the Spider

The voices were clearly audible from the southern gate as Aurora and Vivian made their way into Rustboro City, even though the source could not be seen yet. Aurora wasn't sure what the couple was arguing about. The reason she thought it was a couple's fight was because she could hear a male and a female voice talking loudly one after the other, but frankly she couldn't care less if she tried.

The copper haired girl was tired as hell after being bombarded with fight requests from the children and the fishermen on Route 104. You would think that after she had beaten up the first Trainer with only Leafeon that people would back off, but no it had only spurred them on. All she wanted now was to find the Pokémon center and lie down for an hour or so, to let her sore feet rest for a bit.

Walking past the Pokémon Mart, Vivian was the first of the two who could see who was yelling so loudly. She bumped her elbow into Aurora's side and pointed at the couple. Aurora, who looked into the direction Vivian pointed at, paled considerably. She froze in her tracks and Vivian stopped walking to look back at her best friend. The golden-haired girl noticed Aurora's shocked expression and turned to take a good look at the people that were yelling out on the open street.

The guy wore a remarkable vest that had a pattern that could be likened to the back of a Sandslash and sported short rust-colored hair. He was standing with his back towards the girls. To be honest, Vivian didn't think he would have been the source of Aurora's shock. The now pale girl hadn't even seen his face yet. The girl, on the other hand, demanded much more attention from Vivian. Her black hair had a streak in Ekans-purple and her wardrobe seemed aggressive with a lot of black and metal. Her face was very familiar, although at the same time it was different. She just couldn't lay her finger on it.

"Ara." A hissing sound came from beside Vivian. The blonde looked sideways to see a very angry Aurora. Her small hands turned white with the force with which she held the strap of her backpack and her whole frame was tense. She appeared smaller in size than she already was, but much more dangerous. It was as if she had sensed a threat and was ready to respond to it. Aurora straightened up almost as fast as she had become rigid. Vivian could see a calculated look in her eyes briefly before her friend turned away from the scene.

As Vivian reached out to her friend to stop her from walking away so suddenly, the name Aurora had hissed struck a chord. Ara. As in Arachne Conan? Vivian whipped around with her eyes wide and her expression turned a little fearful. If that person was really Arachne, what was she doing here?

Aurora noticed Vivian stiffening and tried to shake Vivian out of her stupor before they were noticed by Arachne Conan. At least before the girl who they thought was Arachne noticed them.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"For the last time, Miss Conan, no. And that is the end of it." The guy steadfastly refused to give in to whatever the girl was demanding from him. Arachne finally seemed to get the message and gave up. The seething girl sneered at the guy before she turned to leave. The now confirmed Arachne stopped in her tracks when she saw some slightly familiar girls standing in her way.

At first, the dark-haired girl couldn't place the two girls standing a few paces away. She had a good hunch. she gazed up to the sky and saw an Altaria flying above the girls. A golden Altaria. She finally made the connection.

"I didn't think I would see either of you two ever again. Aurora Lockwood and Vivian Rosenfeld. The little treasures of Snowbelle City. The very best that Snowbelle has to offer." Came after a short silence. Her voice was filled with anger and barely suppressed hate. Arachne turned to Aurora. Vivian wasn't even worth her time.

"Not that it was much in your case, Lockwood. You know, I almost didn't recognize you without your pretty hair. Covering it in shame? Because after that performance you gave at the Sinnoh League, I can understand that you would want to hide in a hole." The false sympathy in the black-haired girl's voice was clearly heard by all four of them.

The guy was standing there with his mouth open. He switched his gaze between the black-haired girl and the two newcomers. What was happening?

"Arachne. I'm surprised that the acid in your veins hasn't dissolved you yet." Aurora wasn't going to back down from the girl in front of her and bit back in the same manner. She took a deep breath before continuing.

"My skills were enough to beat you in a Pokémon battle when we were younger. I became better. So, what does that say about your skill level?" The teal-eyed girl bit back suppressed the harsher words and insults that came to mind. She would fight back, but she refused to be baited. Her hands clenched tight and she angled her whole body to stand in between Arachne and Vivian.

"At least, I don't need my Pokémon to protect me." Arachne snarled. The girl's short hair seemed to spike. The purple of her eyes and the lock in her hair stood out even more in contrast to Arachne's pitch black hair. Aurora had hit a nerve.

"At least, they care enough about me to take the hit. Tell me something, Arachne. Why? Why do you even talk to me, if you hate me that much?" Aurora raised her eyebrow and stared at the girl.

Arachne's purple eyes widened, before narrowing sharply at her adversary. She opened her mouth, but Aurora's gaze kept her from saying anything. The purple-eyed girl glared at the opposing teal eyes. With a last sneer, Arachne turned on her heeled boots and stomped off.

The guy sighed and turned around to Aurora and Vivian. He gave them a wry smile and ran a hand through his rusty colored hair. His hazel eyes were wary.

"Sorry about that. I seem to have upset her by being here first. I'm Mason, and you are?" Beside her, Aurora heard Vivian give a strangled gasp and then the golden-haired girl gave Mason a beaming smile.

"Oh, that's all right. Not your fault at all. Please, don't apologize. My name is Vivian, and this is Aurora!" Vivian gushed to Mason. Aurora just rolled her eyes at Vivian and stepped forward to shake hands with Mason.

Mason's dimpled smile made Vivian weak at the knees. Luckily, Altaria flew down and landed next to her Trainer, diverting Vivian's attention from Mason to her Pokémon. The added bonus of this action was that it hid her red face from the male Trainer.

* * *

"We grew up together in Snowbelle. She doesn't like us and I doubt that it will ever change. So, it really wasn't your fault that Ara blew up at us." Aurora wished that the hot tea in her hands would cool down already. She and Vivian had asked Mason to guide them to the Pokémon Center and were now sitting in its restaurant talking to Mason about the girl from their past: Arachne.

"You three all come from Snowbelle and she doesn't like you?" Mason gained a nod from Aurora. Vivian just looked down to her own tea, slowly stirring the warm liquid in a feeble attempt to get her face back under control.

"Yeah, Ara used to try to bully me. She seems to think that the world owes her a favor. She also thinks that she doesn't need help and that the rules don't apply to her. Always acting like everything belongs to her. My dad told me that she once had the nerve to try and go to the Pokémon Village. Alone." The beanie-wearing girl looked out over the lobby to see if Nurse Joy was done with checking her Pokémon.

"Why is it a bad thing to go to the Pokémon Village?" Mason raised his eyebrow. He looked thoughtful as he sipped his coffee. He frowned as he thought about the information the girls had given him. His hazel eyes narrowed.

"The Gym Leader in our city is dauntingly strong and his Pokémon are very hard to beat. More than one Pokémon has been released from duty at the edge of the forest that lies next to our city by trainers that have lost against Wulfric. Because of this, we are warned to stay away from the Winding Woods." Aurora remembered the first time she and Vivian had been taken by her Uncle to the Pokémon Village and a grin appeared on her face. Vivian picked up from where Aurora had stopped talking, the poor guy on the other side of the table was confused by what little Aurora had actually told. The soft blush on the golden blonde's face was only seen by the other girl.

"The forest Pokémon take in the abandoned Pokémon and protect them from further harm. Not only are the forest Pokémon fierce and strong and willing to attack people thy think are unworthy, but the forest has winding paths that seem to change as soon as you set one step forward. It is very easy to get lost there and freeze to death before you are found. The deaths are actually not that rare. Because of the safety reasons, only the current Gym Leader and his successor are allowed to know the path through the woods to get to the Village." Vivian gave a mischievous smile to Mason. As she talked she had felt more comfortable and let out her less reserved side. Her green eyes were sparkling. She continued after a sip of her tea.

Mason listened attentively to Vivian. He even forwent drinking his coffee, just so he didn't miss anything she was telling.

"Ara supposedly went to the forest shortly after Aurora and I were taken there by Wulfric." After this Vivian was interrupted by Mason.

"You just said that only the Gym Leader and his successor are allowed to go there. Why were you and Aurora taken to a place that is known for Pokémon that attack Trainers?" Mason had recovered from his earlier surprise about the fact that deaths were apparently not that rare in Snowbelle when Vivian threw a bigger surprise in the open.

"Calm down, will you? We were taken by our uncle. He is the Gym Leader of Snowbelle City." Vivian tried to reassure him. It wasn't working that well, as Mason seemed to get more agitated and Aurora had to interfere. Giving Mason a stern and annoyed look, she explained how she was related to the Snowbelle Gym.

"My father is the current successor of the Snowbelle Gym. As such, Gym Leader Wulfric has been a friend of my family for a long time. Long enough that he is seen as part of my family. I have always seen Wulfric as my uncle and he sees me as his niece. Seeing as he has no children of his own, he likes to spoil me a bit. When I became friends with Vivian here, Wulfric started treating her as his niece too." Aurora pointed a thumb at the green-eyed girl. The copper blonde was still staring at Mason with an annoyed look.

"I will finish the tale now, so stop interrupting me." Vivian was getting a little stressed by the fact that Mason was interrupting her. Aurora's interference wasn't helping either.

"Well, excuse me, Princess. Please, don't let me stop you." Mason sat back with a smug smile on his face as Vivian became annoyed by that little comment. She scowled at him with her eyes narrowed and her face turned a lovely shade of red.

"Please finish the tale. I want to go to the Gym today." Aurora's soft voice calmed Vivian down enough to take a deep breath before she continued the story.

"So, Ara went to the forest and was caught in the act by Aurora's father. She received the biggest scolding of her life after he found out that the only reason she went was that Aurora and I were taken before her." Vivian shuddered at that mental image. Aurora's father was nice and laid back, but he was extremely scary when he was pushed over the limit or someone had endangered themselves or others. She and Aurora had seen him explode at a trainee of the Gym when he accidently had ordered his Pokémon to attack while they were in range of the attack.

"You got to be kidding me? She voluntarily went to some place she could be killed in, just because she was jealous of you two? She's nuts!" Mason did not want to believe what these girls were telling him. The only reason he did was, was because they were completely serious. Vivian was sitting quietly in her chair, just staring at the empty cup of tea in front of her. Aurora, on the other hand, gazed at him with a sad expression on her face.

Mason raked his hand through his messy hair and sighed. That girl had problems. He knew already that she wasn't completely sane. Although, this was apparently deeper than he had expected. Aurora's soft voice shook him from his thoughts. He snuck a glance at the third person, but she wasn't looking at him.

"I don't know what Ara's exact motivation was to do something so stupid. All I know is that she left shortly after the whole forest incident to go on her journey. She wanted to get away as soon as humanly possible. I haven't seen her since then." Aurora looked to the lobby again. She didn't know what to make of Ara being back in her life and the girl obviously wasn't over what happened a long time ago. Did she make the rift worse by reacting like she did? She raised her cup of tea to her mouth and grimaced. Cold tea was disgusting.

* * *

The girls headed to the Rustboro Gym after they had said their goodbyes to Mason. He had gotten lucky when he scheduled his fight at the Gym. His Gym match was early tomorrow morning, so he wanted to train a bit in preparation.

Aurora liked Mason. He was a down-to-earth kind of guy and he was nice and even tempered. He reminded the reddish blonde a bit of what her father called an earth-type person. They were usually calm and steadfast people, who didn't change drastically or would suddenly change opinions. During their conversation, the only time Aurora had seen him show a lot of emotion was when she and Vivian had told him about the Winding Woods and their adventures in it. All evidence pointed to him being tied closely to the earth. She could expect Ground, Rock, and Grass-types from him.

Vivian was more like the wind or the element of spirit. She drifted everywhere with the wind. Her head was often in the clouds and her emotions could fly all over the place. She was also kind and reliable, caring of others whenever she was needed, unlike someone who was pure wind. Speaking of her best friend. Aurora glance from the corner of her eye to the blonde that was walking beside her. She was softly humming and on occasion she would smile tenderly and her face would turn a bit red.

It was obvious to Aurora that Vivian liked Mason. Not just in the way as friends, but also in a different kind of way. The green-eyed girl looked at him in subtle ways, but Aurora was able to see through the façade that Vivian put up to try and hide it from everyone else. The copper blonde just shrugged. The chances of seeing him after they left Rustboro City were kind of small. Unless, they walked into him at the Hoenn Conference. Aurora held back a snort. Yeah right, like that had a good possibly of happening. Somehow the teal-eyed girl couldn't see Mason competing in such a big tournament.

So, she would keep her mouth shut for the time being; there was no need to pester Vivian about a doomed love life, after all.

It took some time and a look on the PokéNav, but Aurora and Vivian finally managed to find the Rustboro Gym.

They walked in only to find the lobby of the Rustboro Gym completely empty aside from the usual receptionist. A quick look around confirmed for both of the girls that the Gym indeed specialized in Rock-types. Aurora approached the woman behind the counter first. It was only fair since she had given up the previous chance to battle the Gym Leader first and managed to schedule a fight without much difficulty. The waiting time, however, was two days. The schedule of the Gym Leader wasn't as packed so early in the season as it would be later and it made Aurora glad that she already had a badge. Waiting later in the season could end up to be really time-consuming. Vivian got the slot directly after Aurora and the girls walked out on the Gym within half an hour.

The girls decided to split up after scheduling their fights. Aurora wanted to train with Riolu, Leafeon, and Metang on the beaches north to Rustboro and Vivian had seen a small boutique with some cute clothes on the way to the Gym. Aurora ran off after they set a time to meet up for dinner.

Altaria followed the running girl on the orders of her Trainer, to keep an eye on her. Vivian was still worried about her friend and wanted her Pokémon to keep her friend safe. In the end, all she was able to do was giving a halfhearted wave to the two leaving figures, before turning back to look for the boutique. She wanted to spend some time with her newest Pokémon Ralts and let the little dual type out.

* * *

She walked slowly through Rustboro with Ralts in her arms and was amazed by the differences between the Hoenn City and her beloved Laverre. Laverre was one of the smaller cities in Kalos and was maybe better likened to Petalburg instead. Rustboro was really different in the way that it looked like a city. Even if it was one of the smaller cities in Hoenn, it looked more like Luminose. Its hustle and fast paced tempo made her feel a little out of place; Laverre had been more laid back, more a town than a city maybe.

Vivian found the boutique with ease after backtracking for a bit and spend a few happy hours browsing through all the cute stuff. Eventually, she walked out with a nice silver necklace. It had a blue fake gemstone that was surrounded by what looked like Altaria wings, and a soft pink ribbon that she had fastened around Ralts's neck for the time being.

She sighed. Did she really want to be a Gym leader for the rest of her life? She didn't even know where the new Gym was being build or what the town was called. She closed her eyes and for a moment the world was silent and then Ralts was talking to her. Vivian put up a smile.

There was really no use in thinking about the future if she did not even qualify for the spot in the first place. She really needed to think about the present for now. The first question would be, which of her Pokémon would be fighting against the Gym Leader. After seeing the Gym, Vivian had received the confirmation that the Rustboro Gym did indeed specialize in Rock-type Pokémon, much like Aurora had guessed.

Sunken deep in thought, she didn't notice the commotion on the other side of the walkway.

"You know, I always wanted a Spheal. Now I got one! That guy was great, trading his Spheal for my Beedrill."

"Can't believe she wanted to trade that adorable Skitty for my Poochyena. Well, whatever fits her."

"Finally, Graveler evolved to Golem. Glad, he wanted to do a double trade on his own!"

Vivian blinked twice as she heard the many people around her talk about trading Pokémon. She became curious enough to ask one of the passersby about the trading. Apparently, there was an event were Trainers could trade their Pokémon a block away from her current position. The girl was curious to see all the different Pokémon that were put up for trade, but, on the other hand, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go. Trading sounded a lot like abandoning Pokémon, even if it was to another Trainer.

Ralts made the decision for her. The little Pokémon wiggled out of Vivian's arms and ran off into the crowd. Vivian ran frantically after her Pokémon, but the golden-haired girl lost sight of her Psychic-Fairy and Ralts disappeared into the crowd.

The blonde looked everywhere, but couldn't find a single trace of the little Ralts. Vivian was close to tears when she finally heard Ralts calling out to her. The emotions that were transmitted through the bond Vivian shared with Ralts were making her very afraid. Ralts was terrified.

Vivian was finding herself becoming desperate when she bumped into someone. She felt herself lose her balance, but was steadied by a firm hand. Vivian looked up to see the hazel eyes of Mason staring down at her. His rusty colored hair was falling in his face and Vivian felt the urge to brush the strands away. Her cheeks were heating up again and she quickly righted herself. As soon as she got away from his hand, the girl turned her face away from Mason. She was trying to hide her tears and the upcoming redness on her cheeks.

Mason just chuckled at his new friend's behavior. He took a look at her face and grinned. The new color of her cheeks was a nice contrast to her normally pale skin. Although the watery eyes weren't as welcome. He watched her head snap up to his right and a small white missile shot into Vivian's arms.

Vivian cradled her Ralts. She could feel the tension leave her body. Her body relaxed and her eyes started watering. Softly, she trembled a little.

"Never do that again. I was so worried." Vivian's voice came out shaky and the sheer relief of having found Ralts again was clear to hear.

Mason had to give a smile at the bond he could see between Trainer and Pokémon.

Her Ralts buried her face into the girl's chest and the little Psychic-type was shaking. The negative emotions weren't gone yet. Something told Vivian to get out of there as soon as she could.

She was suddenly spoken to by a very eager guy. All Vivian could think of was how she would be able to get away. She did not like the feeling she got from him.

"Are you the owner of that Ralts?" The guy was sweating, breathing heavily and he spoke very wetly. Vivian recoiled from the sight the man made. She tried to open her mouth to reply to the guy who was speaking to her, but he didn't even let her answer.

"Would you like to trade your Ralts for my Dots?" The guy thrust a Poké Ball into Vivian's face and she had to take a step back in order to avoid being punched in the face. She widened her eyes at the guy in shock. Trading Ralts? No way. Sadly, all she could do was gape at the man.

The guy took her silence as a question and he elaborated on his question.

"Dots is my Seedot. I dislike Grass-types, you see. They lack the refinement that Psychic-types have and this Ralts is the perfect example of a well-raised Psychic-type." He rubbed his hands together like he had made the most wonderful discovery. All it did was creep out everybody that was watching the conversation take place.

Vivian supposed that she could be flattered by the offer, but really couldn't bring up any emotion other than revulsion. She quickly shook her head and took another step back away. She tightened her hold on her Pokémon and Ralts hid her face against Vivian's chest.

The guy tried to grab one of the girl's hands. He had to have that little Ralts. He had wanted one for ages. He would not be denied. He…

He missed trying to grab the hand of the girl and overextended. As he looked up from the ground, the weird guy saw that the girl with the golden hair had been pulled into the embrace of the man she had been standing with. That same man was now glaring at him. Those hazel eyes promised consequences if he didn't give up right away.

Vivian was surprised when she had suddenly been yanked backward into Mason. She gave him a look filled with confusion and he gave her a reassuring smile. He then turned to the guy, who was now lying in the dust.

"She denied your request. Leave her alone." The way Mason almost growled at the guy was comforting to Vivian. Not to mention he was defending her, an almost complete stranger.

"She hasn't denied it! And if she knows what is good for her Pokémon, she will agree to my offer!" The guy got back up and tried to make another grab for Vivian.

Mason just pulled her behind him and grabbed the guy by his collar.

"I don't think so."

Vivian just stared at Mason's back in awe.

* * *

Aurora was finishing up her training session with Riolu, Leafeon, and Metang. She was really pleased with the effort her newest Pokémon had put in his training and she was going to reward him.

"Riolu." The Trainer leaned forward a little as she got eye-contact with her little Fighting-type.

"Ri?" The blue jackal Pokémon looked up at his mommy.

Aurora reached out her hand and ruffled his fur.

"You did really well today. How about you and I try fighting the Gym Leader together?" She crouched down to his level and offered her other hand for him to take.

Riolu just launched himself at his mother and nuzzled her neck in excitement. He could feel his mommy stifle her laugh. It only spurred him on. He stretched out his neck and pressed his nose behind her ear. She pulled her neck in at the sudden cold feeling and Riolu grinned.

That grin disappeared when he felt his mommy tickle him. He let go of her and felt to the ground. Leafeon quickly took over the tickling from his Trainer so she could stand back up.

The copper blonde let out a huge yawn as she checked the time. She noticed that it was time to leave for the Pokémon Center to meet up with Vivian. She took one last look over the beautiful sparkling ocean, before calling out to Altaria.

"Altaria, I'm going back to the Pokémon Center. Are you coming?" Vivian's Altaria appeared next to her and gave the girl a look that said: 'You caught me.'

"You really thought I wouldn't notice that you were flying after me?" Aurora rolled her eyes.

"I'm not stupid, you know. Neither am I incapable of looking after me." Aurora gave the bird a hard stare. Altaria shrunk a little. It was wrong to hide and the bird felt ashamed of herself. Like her Trainer, she knew that the other Human was strong, but it had scared the proud bird to see how much the other Human had changed.

"Next time you want to come with me, stay in my sight. I don't mind you watching me, but no more hiding," the girl finished with a small smile. Altaria nodded her head gracefully and made a move to take off.

Aurora recalled all her Pokémon. She grinned at her happy Pokémon as they returned to their Poké Balls and made her way back to Rustboro City.

As the copper blonde neared the Pokémon Center, she saw Arachne coming from that direction. Their eyes met for a brief instant before Arachne turned the other way and Aurora ran past the dark-haired girl.

Aurora stopped and turned back to look at the retreating form of the girl she had known for most of her life.

Was she imagining it or did she see something else than loathing in those purple eyes? She didn't know how long she stood there watching Arachne walk away, but she snapped out of it when Altaria decided to try and sit on her head.

"YOU ARE TOO HEAVY TO SIT ON MY HEAD! YOU GAINED TWENTY KLIO WHEN YOU EVOLVED!" Aurora yelled at the pesky bird, who was now chasing her to the Pokémon Center.

She reached the Pokémon Center and looked around for Vivian, but she couldn't spot her friend anywhere. She shrugged and walked inside to ask Nurse Joy if she had seen Vivian. The Nurse just shook her head and told her that a call had come in for her. The friendly nurse gave her the slip and told her that the phones were currently free.

Aurora thanked the nurse and together with Altaria went to make the call. Vivian still had ten minutes to show up, so Aurora wasn't that worried… yet.

She quickly dialed the number and gave a smile as she recognized the man on the other side of the screen. It was Darren, the scientist that she and Vivian had met in Petalburg Woods the previous day.

"Hey Darren, how are you doing?" Aurora laughed as she saw him look a bit embarrassed. His scratching the back of the neck was a good indicator.

"I'm doing fine, although the boss was a bit concerned that I was attacked in the Petalburg Woods. He wants to meet the kind Trainers who helped me." Darren had straightened up a bit as he talked. He actually looked like a proper scientist now that he was more comfortable and Aurora couldn't help but find it adorable.

"Nah, it was the right thing to do. Nothing special really." Now it was Aurora's turn to be embarrassed. She looked away to the right and rubbed with one finger under her eye. She just tried to wave the praise away.

"I tried to tell him that you didn't see it as anything special, but he wouldn't listen. I did get permission to show the two of you a bit more of Devon. Right, about that…" Darren looked really serious.

The copper blonde focused on the dark-haired man. Why was he so serious?

"When do the two of you have the time to come for the tour?" She really shouldn't have been that surprised. Aurora made a mental list of what she and Vivian had scheduled for the next few days and came up with the best day.

"The best day would probably be the day after tomorrow after we have had our Gym battles. We are scheduled to battle early in the morning, so the rest of the day we don't have much to do." Aurora smiled at the young scientist, who smiled and nodded at her suggestion.

"That would work nicely in my schedule. So I'll see you around one in the afternoon?" Aurora gave her own nod and the two of them said their goodbyes after he gave her the instructions where she needed to go in order to find Devon.

After she hung, Aurora looked at her watch to see that Vivian was late. It seemed she needed to go out and find her. How convenient that she had a Flying-type Pokémon at her disposal.

The girl gave the bird a grin and a few minutes later the golden bird could be seen flying in the skies looking for her Trainer.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Mason handed a bottle of water to Vivian. The slightly shaken girl was sitting on a bench in the park nearby the Pokémon Center. She took the bottle from Mason, but she was staring at the ground. Mason decided not to push the girl and instead watched his Pokémon run around in the park.

Their Pokémon were playing with each other. He smiled as he saw his Cubone running after her Ralts. Cubone took it easy on the Ralts since the Psychic-type wasn't that fast yet. The two, together with Dedenne, Togepi, and Phanpy, were playing a round of tag. He leaned back against his Camerupt while he waited for a response.

Camerupt snorted. His Trainer leaned against him all the time. Especially if he wanted to look 'cool' in front of a pretty girl. His Trainer could use a portable wall instead. The gentle giant shook his head and laid down on the floor making his Trainer stumble around a little. Mason was close to scolding his Pokémon for making him almost fall when Vivian spoke.

"When Ralts disappeared in the crowd, I was so scared. I just couldn't think straight. If I hadn't run into you, I don't think it would have ended so well."

Mason glanced at Vivian's face. It was soft as she took in their Pokémon running around in such a carefree manner. Her lips were settled in a softly curved smile and her green eyes gave off a sense of serenity. She had tilted her head a bit to the left so she could see better without having to smooth her unruly bangs back every thirty seconds. Her messy braid laid over her left shoulder so the right side of her neck was free to look at. Mason caught his eyes wandering down her neck a little to her collarbone but stopped himself from going further down.

"So Ralts just took off on her own?" Mason couldn't help himself. As soon as he had asked the question, he felt the urge to bash his head against a tree. Why was she so distracting?

"She did after she felt that I was curious about the trading event and wanted to take a look," Vivian admitted sheepishly. A hand came up to rake through her golden bangs. She stopped her actions after realizing it would do nothing for her hair, only make more of a mess.

"Lucky, I was there too." Mason turned red. Oh, why?

Vivian let out a giggle and gave him a smile. After that, there was comfortable silence between the two Trainers. Neither of them felt the need to say anything more. All there was to be heard was the sound of their smaller Pokémon playing and the chirping of the Taillow in the trees around them. Occasionally, Camerupt snorted or huffed.

A shadow fell over Vivian and at the same time she could hear a voice coming from the entrance of the park.

"Oi, Vivian!"

The two Trainers lifted their heads to look at the approaching figure. Mason could see the girl with the beanie waiting a bit away. She was expecting something as she waved at the two. Vivian shoot up as she finally remembered that she was supposed to meet up with Aurora after two hours at the Pokémon center. Her Altaria landed on the back seat of the wooden bench and gave an angry chirp.

"Sorry, Altaria, I forgot the time." Vivian apologized to the graceful bird, knowing that Aurora would just wave it off. She got her Pokémon's Poké Balls and quickly recalled them, after letting them say their goodbyes to Mason's Pokémon.

After attaching her Poké Balls back to her bracelet, she turned to Mason. She was looking down shyly with her hands clasped behind her back. She kicked the dirt path a bit. And then she looked up at Mason seeing him still leaning against Camerupt.

"Thank you so much for your help today. I don't know what would've happened without you being there."

She quickly closed the space between them and kissed his cheek. While he was not that much taller than her she still needed to stand on her toes a tiny bit to be able to kiss him properly on his cheek. The moment she lifted her lips from his skin, she turned around and with a swift wave, the girl took off to meet her friend halfway. Her Altaria gave Mason a calculated look before following her Trainer.

Mason's mouth had fallen open. He slowly raised his hand to the burning space where the golden-haired girl had kissed him. As he looked at the girls walking away, talking joyfully to each other, he felt himself growing amused.

"You're welcome, Princess." He recalled his Pokémon with a smirk and slowly made his own way to the Pokémon Center.

* * *

It was two days later. Yesterday, Aurora and Vivian had waved off Mason, since he had won his Gym badge rather easily and he needed to move on to the next Gym, as soon as possible.

He had planted a wildflower in Vivian's hair when she wasn't looking and she had only found it after Aurora had been snickering about it for the better part of an hour. Vivian had cursed the redhead, but Aurora could see her look at the pink flower lovingly sometimes.

Today, the challenge was on once again and Aurora was up for her second badge.

Stretching her arms above her head, the copper blonde released some of the cropped up tension she had felt in the 45 minutes that she had been awake. She was pushed towards the Gym by her friend and Aurora just leaned back a bit so she would cause less friction.

"Aurora! You are up in like 15 minutes. Was it really necessary to sleep until 9 am?" Vivian was scolding her friend who didn't seem impressed by the effort Vivian was making.

"Vivian, you know the saying 'rise and shine'?" Aurora yawned.

"Of course, I do. That is what I did this morning. And what you should have done earlier." The blonde was agitated; what if they were late and the Gym Leader decided that Aurora must be incompetent. Or worse, that she was incompetent by not managing to get her friend at the Gym in time.

"Well, this is my version. Rise if I must, but shine? Yeah, not happening." With a grin, she walked inside the building, leaving Vivian to stand there with an irritated expression on her face.

"Aurora, what do you mean with that?" The brown-eyed girl ran into the Gym. She saw Aurora already talking to the receptionist and walked to join her.

"So, this is your second Gym Battle?" The kind lady asked Aurora.

"Yes, it is." Aurora grabbed her badge case from her back pocket and showed the woman the Balance Badge that she had won a little over a week ago in Petalburg City.

"Oh my, you have challenged Norman already? And he accepted?" At this, the lady got a nod from the slightly embarrassed girl and she just nodded.

"Alright then, I will tell Roxanne that you are a second badge challenger. And you, dear?" After handling the details of Aurora's match, the receptionist turned to Vivian.

"Oh, I'll be going up for my second Badge of Approval. I also have a Balance Badge already." Vivian fished her case out of her pocket and grabbed the badge from the cushion it was laying on. Vivian was careful to show the woman the white mark on the back of the small metal symbol that designated the badge as an Approval Badge.

"You are the third person in the same amount of days that has come here for that, but you are the first that actually has a badge already." The woman praised Vivian with a smile. Vivian blushed happily and put away her badge case again.

"A bit of warning: Roxanne is also a part-time teacher at the Pokémon school here. So it is possible that some of the students watch parts of the on-going matches." The lady gave the warning with a smile and the girls nodded their consent. For them, it was nothing else than just another day at the gym or more like a tournament.

The door to the lobby slid open and a boy in the uniform of the Trainer school came out. He was a bit shy and he shuffled a bit around when he felt the girl's look at him. A Sudowoodo trailed after the boy.

"Sorry t-to i-interrupt, but R-Roxanne is ready for the next c-challenger." His voice was soft as he stood there waiting patiently for either of the girls to respond to him.

"Ah, right. I'm Aurora Lockwood and I guess that I am the next challenger. Nice to meet you." Aurora gave a small smile at the boy and waited for him to gesture to follow him.

He did as she had expected and they left towards the battlefield.

Aurora took up her spot at the end of the battlefield. She took the chance to look around the tribunes and saw that indeed there were some students sitting in the benches and they were happily whispering about the previous fight. Vivian did not go towards the tribunes and settled to wait behind her friend.

She slowly raked her eyes over the left side when she spotted Arachne sitting there in a sour mood. One of her Pokémon, a Croagunk, was next to her on the bench. Did Arachne lose to Roxanne? The Croagunk was uninjured and if she had read Ara's mood correctly, this Pokémon hadn't been part of the battle. Aurora winched. Then maybe she should be careful while battling. Arachne was no slouch in that department.

"So you are the second challenger for today?" Aurora focused on the girl standing on the other side sight of the field. The girl was wearing a white shirt under a gray dress with pink leggings, a big bow in the same color as her leggings in her hair and a necktie in pink. Her hair was parted in two pigtails and her red eyes twinkled with mirth. She looked like a schoolgirl, but Aurora knew better than to underestimate someone on their appearance.

"I am. I look forward to battle with you." Aurora gave a small bow and grabbed Riolu's Poké Ball.

"I am Roxanne, Gym Leader of the Rustboro Gym. I look forward to battle with you and see what I can learn. Please, prepare for battle." Roxanne smiled at Aurora and pulled out her own Poké Ball. With a flourish, she threw the ball out on the field.

"Let's battle, Geodude!"

"Shine, Riolu!"

* * *

"This is the fight between the Rustboro Gym Leader Roxanne and Trainer Aurora Lockwood from Snowbelle City. Are you both ready?" The voice of the boy that had led Aurora and Vivian onto the battlefield was strong and both of the battling women gave their nods.

"Alright, this battle is a 3 versus 3. No time limit and only the challenger is allowed to switch in between rounds. Round one is between Geodude and Riolu. Begin!"

"Riolu, use Force Palm!" Aurora took the lead and issued the first command. Riolu didn't waste time and ran toward his opponent.

Roxanne just commanded her Geodude in return.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl." The Rustboro Gym Leader was obviously better in containing her emotions as nothing besides a hint of a smile was shown on her face.

Her Geodude made a ball out of himself and started producing a green sheen. Riolu was just a few paces away when Geodude was done with his move and then Riolu slammed his hand onto the Rock-type. Within a second a purple glow from Riolu's palm slammed into the Geodude. The Geodude flew back into one of the rock that littered the field.

"Geodude! Are you alright?" Roxanne's red eyes had widened. That Riolu was more powerful than she had expected. Well then. She waited for the grunt of her Pokémon to come and signify that he was alright. She heard the weak cry coming and sighed in relief.

"Good, then use Rock Tomb!" Her Geodude started hurling rocks at the masked Fighting-type and managed to catch his opponent off guard. Riolu only just managed to dodge the rocks that came at him with high speed.

"Riolu, look for the pattern!" Riolu focused on his Trainer and began to dodge the rocks better when he began to see how his opponent was throwing the rocks.

Aurora smirked as she could hear the audience cheer for both of the two Trainers on the field. She held a close eye on the Rock-type and saw that he was slowing down.

"Riolu, use Counter and give him his rocks back!" Riolu had been dodging for a while and it was fun that this Geodude wasn't nearly as fast as Leafeon was. He did get hit a few times with some of the boulders that broke apart in mid-air, but he was still in good shape. As soon as he heard his mommy call out he pummeled the first rock back at the… well, rock.

Rock after rock, he returned to sender and eventually, there were no more rocks coming. Riolu stopped to take a breather. The whole Gym was silent before the referee called out.

"Geodude is unable to battle. Riolu wins this round."

"You did it Riolu! I am so proud of you!" His mommy called out. He could feel her happiness and it gave him strength. He turned to him mom and ran back over to stand in front of her again, signaling he wanted to continue fighting.

"Sure, but if I think you are too tired, Metang will take over." Aurora saw her Riolu nod, happy that she was allowing him to stay out on the field a little longer.

* * *

Roxanne recalled her Geodude with a sigh. That… was fast. She shook her head. She had underestimated her challenger, just because she did not look as threatening as the previous one. She contemplated with Pokémon she should send out now.

Then she heard her challenger telling her Pokémon that she would replace him with a Metang when she switched him out. A Metang. Roxanne's mind immediately went to the other person she knew with a Pokémon of that evolution line. He had a Metagross that could be considered one of the strongest Pokémon she knew. Maybe even the strongest and this slip of a girl had one too? Albeit the second stage evolution, but still.

Her eyes grew big. What kind of challenger did she have?


	10. Chapter 9: Trouble in Paradise

Hello, my lovely readers!

Sorry for the delay, but here is the next installment of Delta Emerald.

I would love to thank everyone who supports me by reading DE and Meet the Team Aurora and Vivian. Raxen12! You are awesome and I hope you will enjoy many more chapters!

As always thanks to the Great 6th Spectral King for reviewing, I am glad you have such faith in Aurora!

A thank you to Venusaurite for reviewing, I plan to write many more chapters. And one for .568, I do hope my story is original, otherwise I am in trouble.

And all the lovely viewers who have favorited DE.

Here is chapter 9!

* * *

Chapter nine: Trouble in Paradise

Aurora was waiting for Roxanne to throw her second Pokémon on the field, but it seemed that the Gym Leader was facing a bit of a dilemma. The copper blonde waited patiently, although she was a bit unnerved by the stare the red-eyed girl was giving her.

Roxanne was apprehensive, but she squared her shoulders and called out her next Pokémon.

"Alright, Onix, time to battle!" With the same flourish as before she called her second Pokémon to the field and the audience was rewarded with the bone-chilling roar of the giant Onix.

Her opponent was confident and pumped her fist in the air.

"All right, Riolu, let's show them what you can do."

"The second round is between Onix and Riolu. Start!"

"Riolu, use Sky Uppercut!" Aurora was unaware of the ruckus she had just caused.

Mouths fell open and whispers were exchanged. Arachne was now paying attention to what was happening on the field. Sky Uppercut was a very unusual move for a Riolu to have from what she had heard about the species. She rested her head on her loosely curled fist. A grin filled with interest formed on the normally stoic face. This just got a lot more interesting.

Never before had Riolu felt so overwhelmed. The young Pokémon had stopped moving at the sudden influx of strong emotions. The emotions were filling up his senses so quickly and heavily, and they were making his head hurt so badly. The young emanation Pokémon was not used to this much information coming from all sides. He needed them to stop coming. He curled up in a small ball in order to block out the noises.

Roxanne took advantage of the fact that Riolu was in visible distress and ordered her Onix to attack.

"Onix, use Bind." The Onix swung his heavy tail around and curled it around the tiny fighting-type. He then lifted his opponent off the floor and brought it closer to his face to inspect. Nothing was happening and thus the giant rock snake squeezed.

Meanwhile, Aurora tried her hardest to stay calm. Vivian was shouting at her to do something, that Riolu was hurting, but right now it would only hurt Riolu more if she just kept shouting orders. Aurora remembered a tidbit she had heard from Riley long ago. The bond of a Riolu and its Trainer was strong and they could override other input, it was a long shot, but it would have to work. So, the girl focused on her Pokémon and send out all the love, confidence, and trust she felt for her littlest Pokémon.

The little blue fur ball had stopped moving and Onix uncurled his tail the tiniest bit. Was the fight already over? Well, that was disappointing.

It was all Riolu needed to escape from the tight grip the stone snake had on him and he jumped out on the rocks of his tail. His mommy had snapped him out of his misery and now he was going to fight. He gained a bit of speed as he charged up his Sky Uppercut. A short jump and Riolu clocked the snake on his chin.

Aurora cheered. That was her boy!

"Good job, Riolu! Follow up with Force Palm. Finish it!" The teal-eyed girl was grinning like a maniac and was close to jumping all over the place. Riolu had been able to focus on her emotions and fought back.

Her Pokémon had landed on the ground awkwardly and he stumbled a bit before finding his balance again. Even so, Riolu was eager to end the fight and take a rest. So, he side-stepped the flailing tail of his opponent and went in for the punch on the boulder beneath the Onix's head.

"Rock Throw! Don't let him come any closer!" Roxanne was desperate. That Riolu was strong and was able to fight after he had been hit by Geodude's Rock Tomb. Even the slight difference in speed did nothing for the Rock-type Gym Leader as the Riolu had its target in sight. A blue line and then the fur ball went in for the ending.

Onix felt the pain coming from his chest blossoming upward to mix in with the pain in his chin and then nothing.

Riolu hopped back to his original spot and stood there waiting for the call.

"Onix cannot continue fighting. Riolu wins this round!"

* * *

Arachne nodded approvingly at Lockwood's display. The young woman from Snowbelle was a bit surprised by the younger girl's performance. While it was true that Arachne had a problem with her, she had to admit that Lockwood did know how to battle with her Pokémon. This was on a much higher level than the copper blonde had ever displayed to be capable off in their hometown. She hadn't panicked or lost her temper even in the slightest, even when her Pokémon got into trouble.

Arachne spied the small Pokémon run back to his Trainer as soon as the referee had called the match and jump in her arms. Soft words and gentle smiles were exchanged. Arachne felt the envy welling up in her. She turned her head to look at what the Gym Leader was doing. It was rare for a Trainer to challenge this Gym for their second Gym Match and even rarer to have Pokémon capable of doing so much damage at once. It was clear that Roxanne felt the pressure.

The next time Arachne cast her eye on Lockwood, she was returning the small Fighting-type to his Poké Ball. It was an odd gesture since she normally would have pushed her Pokémon to the bitter end before calling them back. Perhaps this was merely a precaution, but it was a wise decision.

Another Ball was plucked from the belt and grasped loosely in the deceptively dainty hands of the challenger. Arachne had to admit that she looked forward to seeing what kind of Pokémon would be sent out.

* * *

Aurora had just recalled Riolu back to his Poké Ball. He had enough of fighting for now and she had to agree that another round would be pushing it. After some compliments and a hug, Riolu had gone happily into his ball. Now it was Metang's turn to show his worth.

"Shine, Metang!"

Dead silence. Aside from Metang appearing on the battlefield, no sound was to be heard. All students were waiting with baited breath. A Metang! They had only heard of them before. The information given to them in the lecture was that one of the Hoenn Champions had a Metagross and that it was the evolved form of Metang. The students had been warned that they probably never see one in real life, as they were incredibly difficult to find.

Voices were loud as Metang and his Trainer readied themselves for the next opponent. Aurora was confident that it wouldn't take long before she had her second Gym badge in her hands.

She could see Roxanne's hand shaking as it was slowly raised up. The Gym leader seemed to know that she was in for a rough battle and that she would lose. The young woman released her chosen Pokémon on the field. The look on her challenger's face made it worth the trouble.

Aurora's mouth had fallen open and she didn't know what to make of the Pokémon that stood motionless on the field. That thing was all nose. The copper blonde was reluctant to admit that she had no idea what the Pokémon was. Even so, she grabbed her Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Nosepass, the Compass Pokémon. Its nose can point to the north like a compass needle. Travelers can use Nosepass to check directions." The green Pokédex beeped.

"I can also use a regular compass for that." The girl muttered to herself. Stashing her Pokédex away, Aurora placed her focus back on the field.

"The next round is between Nosepass and Metang. Begin!"

And the battle was on.

"Metang, use Meteor Mash!" Aurora pumped her fist in the air as she ordered the attack.

Roxanne immediately retaliated by shouting her own orders.

"Use Harden! Don't give in!" The Nosepass did not respond to his Trainer. Instead, a white shine appeared on its body, going from the top of his head all the way down to his feet.

Metang nodded and sped up to where its opponent was standing. Metang's hand glowed white as he charged up the attack. Only a few paces before it made contact.

And then Metang made contact. Orange, yellow, and pink meteor-shaped particles came out of the white light on Metang's hand. It was not easy, but Metang succeed to lift up the Rock-type and a moment later it flew past Roxanne.

The Gym Leader yelled when she saw her Nosepass fly through the air. The resulting sound of the heavy rock slamming into the wall was extremely loud. Roxanne abandoned her spot in the Trainer box and raced to her fallen Pokémon. She found her that Nosepass was passed out, but it was okay otherwise.

A brief silence fell over the battlefield. Several gasps coming from the tribunes on the sides of the field caused the Gym Leader to look back at the field.

The Metang in the center of the field was glowing in a bright light and changing in front of her eyes. The main body became bigger and two more arms grew in the back. The now huge Pokémon stood on the ground with its four legs. The spikes that had been on its body had disappeared. The spike on its face had changed into a giant cross over the whole front of its face and its red eyes had become bigger than before.

"Uh… Nosepass is unable to continue fighting. Therefore …Metagross wins this round and the challenger has won this battle. The victory goes to Aurora Lockwood!" The referee had to swallow before he could get the words out of his mouth. He called the match in a kind of stupor. The rest of the crowd was silent too and it was only broken by Aurora.

* * *

The girl couldn't believe her eyes as she saw the glow surround her Metang. As she watched the evolution happen before her eyes, Vivian had come up beside her.

"So, you have a Metagross now." Vivian nudged her friend softly to see if she could get a response from the other girl. Aurora blinked twice before tears started gathering in her eyes. She clasped her hand over her mouth as she stared at her Metang…No, her Metagross. Metagross. She had hoped for it to happen for so long. Now, it was happening in her second Hoenn match. Together with her Pokémon, she was slowly becoming stronger.

She made one step. And then another. Two steps became a lot more as she ran toward her protector. The Pokémon felt her coming and turned towards her. She didn't slow down as she leaped forward to hug her hero. She hadn't heard the referee call out the match nor did she register Roxanne and Vivian come up to her.

All she cared about was her Pokémon. Aurora whispered lovingly to the Steel-Type as she held it tightly. She recalled the first time she had seen it and the times it had protected her. The times it fought for her and the times they had spent together. She pulled away to look at it and was rewarded with a soft head-butt in her stomach. A watery smile graced her lips.

"I did not expect this to happen, but you won the match fair and square." Roxanne stood a bit away from the imposing Pokémon and gestured to it when she spoke. Aurora had to laugh at that statement. She hadn't expected it either, but she was ecstatic that it had happened. Two years of hard training and it had paid off.

"This is yours now." Roxanne held her hand out to her challenger. Aurora picked up the small object in Roxanne's hand. The girl's eyes sparkled with her unshed tears, but she held fast and just studied the metal badge in her hand.

"This is the Stone Badge. It is the proof that you have won from me." Roxanne nodded to the girl. They had done a fine job and now it was the time to fight the next challenger.

She turned to the golden blonde. She had been quiet through the conversation and looked at her with a determined expression.

* * *

Vivian saw Aurora show the Stone Badge to Metagross. The golden blonde had only just gotten used to the protective Pokémon and now she would have to become used to Metagross instead. But Vivian knew how happy Aurora was when Metagross started glowing so bright. It was a step in the right direction.

The emerald-eyed girl watched her friend recall her Pokémon and leave the field to sit in the tribunes. Aurora settled a bit away from Arachne, who ignored the girl walking past her. The happy girl brushed away her tears and gave Vivian an encouraging smile.

Now it was her time to shine.

* * *

Vivian stood tall in the same spot as Aurora had stood before her. She calmly reached for her first Poké Ball.

"Enchant, Sylveon!" She tossed the ball onto the battlefield and the pink fox appeared with a happy cry. A scoff could be heard from the stands. Vivian rolled her eyes. It was probably Arachne, who scoffed at her Battle command.

The girl and her fox waited patiently for Roxanne to call her own Pokémon out onto the field.

"Alright, Geodude. Let's fight!" Roxanne had calmed down her rapidly beating heart. That had to be one of the most terrifying things she had ever seen. When that Metang rushed at her Nosepass with a Meteor Mash, she had known it was all over. That move was so strong and only well-trained Metang could learn it. And then it had evolved. She shook her head.

'This is not the time to think about it.' Roxanne scolded herself. Her new challenger deserved her undivided attention. Roxanne took a second to study the girl. The girl in front of her had on a comfortable, cute outfit with fitting clothes for the Hoenn climate, her hair tucked out of the way and a confident look in her bright green eyes. A small smirk was formed on her face and her stance was loose and relaxed.

No hint of fear or nerves was to be seen. Either she didn't feel them or she could fake it well enough.

"Are you ready?" Roxanne asked her challenger.

Vivian responded with a respectful nod and Sylveon stretched to prepare herself for the match.

"This is the match between Gym leader Roxanne and challenger Vivian Rosenfeld. You have heard the rules. The first round is between Geodude and Sylveon. Begin!" The referee shouted.

"Alright, Sylveon, start with Reflect!" Vivian pointed towards the field with a big gesture.

The pink vixen gave a yip and prepared her Reflect. Before Roxanne could issue her first command, a barrier had risen around the Eeveelution. The fox wrapped her ribbons loosely around her and sat back down.

Roxanne gritted her teeth and then shouted out her first command of the match.

"Geodude, use Rock Throw!"

Geodude grunted and picked up one of the pieces of rock that still lay on the field from the previous match. It was a bigger piece and Geodude had a bit of a hard time lifting it. He almost fell over, but he managed to throw it to Sylveon.

"Sidestep it, Sylveon and then Fairy Wind." Vivian leaned her head to the side; she was surveying the field to find an advantage for the slower Eeveelution. The rocks were a good spot to hide behind, but the trouble was getting there in the first place. She would have to get Sylveon make the rock curl up.

Sylveon neatly sidestepped the thrown rock and started glowing with her pink light. A second later, a glittering pink light was unleashed and rushed toward the Geodude.

"Geodude, use Defense Curl!" Roxanne was taking no chances and had Geodude reduce it size against the powerful Fairy Wind.

"Geodude." The boulder nodded and curled up. A green sheen enveloped his body. The Fairy Wind collided with the Geodude and it was briefly picked up and thrown a couple of steps backward.

The landing blew up the dust and visibility was hindered. Sylveon and Vivian had enough time to enact their strategy. The pink fox crept behind a sizeable rock and started to charge her Draining Kiss. It was going to be the last attack.

"Geodude, use Roll-out!" Roxanne still couldn't see through the dust, but at least Geodude would be out and able to follow up.

The rock spun on its spot and then zipped out of the dust onto Vivian's half of the battlefield. He landed on the other side of the boulder that Sylveon was hiding behind. The Eeveelution made a soundless jump to the top of the rock and looked downward with a cute grin.

Geodude was able to look up and then he saw a perfect pink heart floating down to him. He had no idea what was going on and was stunned on its spot when he saw Sylveon on the boulder with her Baby-doll eyes looking at him.

The large pink heart hit and dissipated in lots of small hearts of different colors that floated back to the Eeveelution. Sylveon was feeling energized and was hopping around on the boulder where she had been standing on. The Geodude had no trouble wit to much energy. Right, then he was lying on the floor with prefect swirls instead of his eyes.

"Geodude can't continue. Sylveon wins this round!"

* * *

"Good job, Sylveon!" Vivian praised the hyper Eeveelution. The girl was pleased with the performance of her Pokémon and it was time for the fox to return to her Ball. Vivian had planned for another of her Pokémon to take the next round. But it didn't seem that Sylveon was going to comply with her wishes.

"Sylveon, return!" The red beam missed as Sylveon side-stepped to look at something else.

Sylveon had no grain of attention to spare for her Trainer. The Eeveelution was running around with gusto and simply couldn't stay still long enough to listen to her Trainer. She needed to expel her energy, but she just couldn't focus enough.

Vivian could hear Arachne laugh her heart out in the stands. One day, Vivian would show the black-haired girl not to laugh at her. But first, she needed to deal with Sylveon.

"Vivian, I'll take her to the park with Leafeon. She isn't going to calm down easily is she is stuck in her Poké Ball." Aurora stood next to her friend and laid a hand on her shoulder. Vivian hadn't seen her walking down but was glad that her friend was offering to help with her hyper Pokémon.

"Okay. You know what to do?" Vivian was a bit worried about what happened, so Aurora needed to calm her down.

"I do. Sylveon, we are going outside!" Aurora called out and this time, the Eeveelution did listen. Since Aurora was a lot scarier, the pink fox did not want to upset her.

The teal-eyed girl had given Vivian a thumbs-up and then Aurora made her way out the Gym with the energetic fox trotting behind her. The audience could hear a ping and a 'Leafeon!' before it went silent.

Vivian focused back on the field and saw that Roxanne was still choosing her Pokémon so she hadn't held up the battle. She gave a sigh in relief and she grabbed her next Pokémon of her bracelet.

"Enchant, Floette!"

"Alright, Omanyte, show them your worth!"

Whispers started back up in the stands as they were treated to the sight of one of Kanto's fossil Pokémon. The small blue and cream Pokémon was cutely stretching his little tentacles. However, Vivian knew not to underestimate the Pokémon just because he looked cute. It was one of the traps she employed.

She quickly checked her Pokédex for any information.

Omanyte, the Spiral Pokémon. Believed to have lived over 2 billion years ago. Recent research indicates that it was able to control its buoyancy by storing and releasing air in its shell. The girl shoved her Pokédex back in her pocket and then prepared.

"This is the second round between Omanyte and Floette. Begin!"

With a flourish and a fancy hand sign, Vivian called out to her Floette.

"Floette, use Lucky Chant!"

The little sprite nodded and danced around on her place while chanting in her own language. Soon, hot pink stars sprouted from Floette's little body, indicating that the move was successful. The Omanyte had spit out a Water Gun in the same time that was headed right on point to hit Floette.

"Floette, dodge and then Magical Leaf!" Vivian wanted to chip away at the Omanyte's health. Certainly a part Water-type would have good Special defense.

As Floette dodge the Water Gum by floating upward, Vivian held a close eye on the Omanyte. It was mixing the water with dirt from the ground.

Vivian's eyes widened.

"Floette. Use Magical Leaf now!"

Roxanne was gritting her teeth; an attack from a Pokémon that strong would leave Omanyte down for the count.

"Omanyte, use Mud Shot!" It was a last resort and Roxanne did not have enough faith that it would block the Magical Leaf.

Both Pokémon sends off their attacks. Neither of them would be giving in to the other if they could help it.

The Mud Shot and Magical Leaf clashed in the middle of the space between the two fighting Pokémon. Omanyte pushed an extra harsh wave out and the Magical Leaf scattered. The stream of mud traveled through the air, only to miss the small Fairy-type Pokémon by a few hairs.

Floette threw another volley of her shimmering leaves and this volley wasn't hindered by the counter attack of the Spiral Pokémon. The leaves hit the tired Pokémon hard. Valiantly, the Omanyte tried to keep up but he lost the battle.

"Omanyte can't continue fighting, Floette wins this round. The match goes to Vivian Rosenfeld!"

* * *

The two female Trainers reached out their hands to each other. Roxanne was resigned, she had lost. But this girl would be a very good addition to the line-up. Vivian was strong, kind to her Pokémon; she could work within the given parameters and was able to fight efficiently. The girl was a defensive fighter, calm and set the fight to her hand when she could. Vivian had a good head on her shoulders.

The girl on the tribune shook with barely contained anger. Her purple eyes had almost spat out flames in the short time that Rosenfeld had been announced to be the winner of the match. Arachne had, at first, watched the match with mirth. The Sylveon was unexpected and a decent battler, but Arachne had noticed that it had trouble moving. The fact that the pink fairy fox had just sweetly smiled down at her opponent when he was hit made it all the more rewarding.

The Floette wasn't as much of a surprise; the dark-haired girl had pegged the blonde to be a bleeding heart. And even this Pokémon could battle quite well. It seemed that this pixie had a lot more experience under her belt than the fox did. It took a bit of time to connect the loose pieces, but then it did. Both of Rosenfeld's Pokémon were of the same type. And it was supposed to be a SECOND badge battle, but those were three-on-three Pokémon battles, as Lockwood had fought.

She watched the scene play out in front of her. The Rustboro Gym Leader shook hands with Rosenfeld and then held out the badge that Rosenfeld had fought so hard for.

"As a reward of your skills as a Trainer and an aspiring Gym Leader, I give you my approval in the form of this Stone Badge."

So, it was true. Arachne grimaced. Rosenfeld smiled with a nauseating happy expression. Maybe, this would be a good time to mess with her. Scratch that, it was always a good time to mess with little Miss Perfect.

…

Clap. Clap. Clap.

…

Vivian slowly turned her head toward the source of the applause. She had just taken her second badge of approval in her hands when the antagonizing slow claps could be heard throughout the Gym. Her eyes landed on a girl that was standing in the tribunes. Her elbows leaned on the railing as her hands made the journey to each other. A mocking smile was settled around the dark-colored lips of Arachne.

"Ah, I see that you are also going for the position as a Hoenn Gym Leader?" The tone was light and sweet, something that neither Roxanne nor Vivian thought fitting for the girl looking down on them.

"Also?" Vivian had a bad feeling that she wouldn't like where this was going. Why did she get those feelings so often ever since she had reunited with Aurora?

"Oh yes. Also. After all, you have heard that other Trainers are in the same race for the position?" A purr left Arachne's mouth. The mocking smile grew wider as the purple-eyed girl took in the fury on Rosenfeld's face.

Roxanne stayed silent. It was interesting to see how Trainers that had known each other for a long time reacted to each other. Especially, if they didn't like each other. It would prove to Roxanne if she made the right choice to deny Arachne her approval.

"I, too, am in that race. However, my skills are better than those of yours. After all, my skills were verified by an independent Gym Leader. And you?" Arachne was curious. Who in their right mind would ever consider Rosenfeld for a position as an authority figure? The girl was meek on the best of days, too kind to properly battle and afraid of several Pokémon. Not the best choice for a Gym Leader. She was supposed to be a defender of the people. Those who would live under her protection. Someone who was strong and capable of protecting. Vivian Rosenfeld was not any of those, the last time she checked.

"Valerie Shanaye, the Gym Leader of Laverre City and my mentor of the past five years. It was she, who decided that I was ready for the responsibilities of that position." Vivian stood tall and held herself in a dignified pose. She had grown up a lot during the years that she had trained in the Laverre Gym. She could handle a childhood bully. She was stronger than she used to be. Vivian had to be.

"Ah, the Beautiful Fairy Mistress of Laverre City has recommended you? Very well, I will see what Valerie sees in you for myself. She was no trouble for me after all." Arachne made a gesture to the Pokémon sitting on the bench behind her.

"Poison-types? I always knew you would choose either them or Dark-types." Vivian shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. I will reach the top and you will fall short." The blonde girl promised.

"We will just have to wait, won't we?" The dark-haired girl gave a sweet smile at Vivian and turned around to leave. Her Croagunk followed his Trainer without prompting.

Vivian balled her hand and gave a frustrated sigh as she watched Arachne Conan disappear. She would deal with it later.

* * *

Aurora was watching Sylveon and Leafeon run around in the small park that she had found Vivian in a few days ago. The two were currently playing tag with Riolu and Vulpix. Banette was hiding in the shadows of the trees, sulking because she hadn't used him for her Gym battle. The copper blonde had promised that he would fight the next battle if he didn't have a disadvantage. After making sure that Banette was just sulking, Aurora turned her attention back to the playing Pokémon on the field. In the corner of her eye, she spied a shadow moving towards the commotion.

Aurora had gotten a lot of greetings from small children and their mothers as they walked by. The children had stared at the assorted Pokémon with awe as there were some that they had never seen before. Several Trainers had asked her to battle for the same reason, but she had declined after telling she had just battled against Roxanne and her Pokémon were tired.

Sylveon had briefly come to her to thank her for letting the Fairy stay out to play with the other Pokémon. The pink Eeveelution had calmed down a lot in the time she had been running around with Aurora's Pokémon.

The girl shook her head. Sylveon had used a draining move when she was still full with energy and had suffered an energy overload. The only way to help stave off the inevitable breakdown was to spend the energy before it could crop up. Leafeon had the same problem when he had first used Giga Drain. The result had been even worse, as the Grass-type had drained a Graveler in one hit. While Leafeon normally had a lot of energy, this had been like comparing a house Glameow to a Pyroar. The poor thing had to run around all day trying to exert his energy.

Luckily for Sylveon, she had only partially drained a Geodude. And not its evolution with the higher stamina to go with it. The poor fox would have gone crazy. Aurora was watching the fox for any signs that her injury was playing up. Luckily, it all seemed fine. Vivian would go mental if her beloved Pokémon were hurt in any way.

Aurora was getting a bit nervous as she was waiting for Vivian to arrive. Her friend had to be done with her match already, right? Her thoughts turned sour as she replayed what happened in Riolu's second battle. Vivian had, yet again, yelled at her to do something when Riolu had been unable to move. She had been able to do nothing for her little Fighting-type without making it worse. Why hadn't Vivian realized that?

Vivian. Aurora couldn't help it, but sometimes she hated the other girl. Aurora wondered how Vivian was able to stay so innocent during the years. Aurora, herself, had faced the horrors and discrimination of being a female league Trainer. Everywhere she had gone she had heard the whispers and the insults. Constantly, her skills had been downplayed. It was luck that had won her the tournament. Her opponent had been distracted by her, so he wasn't able to concentrate. A small girl like her? Nah, there was no way that she would be able to compete on an equal level as the male Trainers. With her looks, she must be a coordinator. Those comments hurt.

And Vivian? What had started as a fricking joke in Kalos had given Vivian the thing that Aurora would have killed for. Acknowledgment for her skills that didn't come from her own family. Her own mother raved about the Fairy of Snowbelle, about the skills Vivian possessed, what a joke. The girl huffed. Aurora was well aware if she had never had become so close to the other girl, Vivian would have walked the path of a doctor or a teacher. She wouldn't have become the fighter that she was today.

That day, about a month and a half ago, when Vivian had invited her to travel with her in Hoenn, Aurora had felt like Vivian had plunged a knife in her back. She had been so insensitive to do that. Aurora understood that her friend had been excited, but to be confronted by her friend's success while you were beaten down? It hurt.

She stewed in her angry thoughts for a bit. Until she felt a small set of paws on her knee. Aurora looked down to see Riolu standing in front of her with a concerned expression. His eyes were watering and he strained to reach out to her. She picked him up and held him close. Softly, she breathed in and smelt Riolu's scent. She was calming down quicker than she had expected. Aurora remembered the good times she had with her best friend.

Aurora had first met her blonde friend in class shortly after Vivian had moved to Kalos. The blonde had been shy and didn't want to talk. Aurora had thought that the new girl was weird, with her outfit that looked like a Chansey. Nurse Joy used Wigglytuff, not Chansey. Then she had been introduced to the partner of Nurse Rosenfeld, a Chansey from Kanto. The copper blonde had then understood that not everything was as it seemed.

The girls had bonded over Swablu. The flying menace had sought her out after she had recovered from her near brush with death. And the bird had dragged Vivian with her on the visit. Swablu had been the factor for the two girls to bond. After that, Vivian would sit next to Aurora in class and they would battle together whenever Aurora was able to borrow one of her father's Pokémon. They spend more time together and slowly, the girls had become the best of friends.

When Aurora had met Shuppet, things had gotten rocky between the girls. Since the ghost liked spooking people and Vivian had been his favorite victim. But they had a common enemy to unite them against. Arachne. When the dark-haired girl left Snowbelle, Aurora and Vivian had stayed for another three years. Aurora out of duty to her family and Vivian out of friendship for the other girl.

Their journey had been so much fun. That had been Aurora's first time being free to do as she pleased. And she had enjoyed it immensely. Vivian, on the other hand, wasn't as happy being on the road all the time. Aurora had been disappointed by the lack of Pokémon that she had been able to capture, but they hadn't felt right for her. And Vivian had never held her own team above her head, nor had she acted superior to Aurora. Something, the copper blonde was grateful for.

Aurora had been sad to leave her friend behind in Laverre City. In her hurt, she had left Kalos to go and travel through Sinnoh, the region of Myths. She had called Vivian every two weeks for that first year. After that, the contact had faced into the background as Vivian got more duties and Aurora started traveling more. The few months Aurora spend in Kalos in-between her journey through the Orange Islands and Johto were amazing as she was able to spend time with her old friend.

A tear slipped out of her eye as she recalled every moment she had shared with Vivian. Riolu hugged her tighter. The good times outweighed the bad by so much. So, why did she hate Vivian? She didn't, she was jealous of the success her friend had. She was hurt and jealous over things she had no control over. The girl was aware that her anger towards her friend was ungrounded. But she could not help it.

She looked toward her Pokémon and saw that they were gathered around her, supporting her. Banette was standing in front of her and her foxes were at her sides. Sylveon was sitting on the ground looking at her with big blue eyes.

"I'll be okay. Soon enough, I will be able to leave everything behind me and live again." Her voice was soft and she stuttered a bit. Her Pokémon responded by rubbing their heads against her. It made a smile appear on the blonde's face. She shooed them off to play for the last few minutes before Vivian would arrive.

She wiped away the tears that threatened to fall.

* * *

Vivian was ranting to herself as she walked to the park where Aurora was waiting.

Why did it have to be Arachne that would battle against her for the Gym leader position?

The golden blonde and her Altaria approached the park. Vivian was still in a foul mood and most Trainers that she encountered made sure to avoid coming close to her.

She saw Sylveon playing with Aurora's Pokémon and as soon as the Eeveelution noticed her, she came running to her Trainer. Sylveon jumped up against her and bumped her head against Vivian's stomach.

"Hey girl, are you feeling better now?" Vivian gave a large smile as Sylveon yipped happily before racing back to her game with the other Pokémon. Vivian looked over to see Aurora looking up to the sky with a, barely there, smile.

Aurora was shaken out of her memories of the past when she heard someone release their Pokémon. She looked over to see Vivian release her Togepi, Floette, Dedenne, and Ralts. They got the soft command to go play and relax for a bit. Vivian's Pokémon cheered and scattered. Aurora's Pokémon welcomed them and the game became even more energetic.

Vivian strode over to the bench that Aurora was sitting on and let herself slump down on the bench. Aurora was quiet and she didn't seem to want to talk. So, Vivian would.

"I won." Vivian was expecting a better reaction than what she got.

"I know." Aurora kept looking forward, refusing to take her eyes of her Pokémon.

"That is it? No congratulations? No good jo…" Here Vivian was interrupted by her friend.

"You had the upper hand all along. There was no reason for me to believe you would lose." Aurora's voice was a bit stern, as she spoke the encouraging words.

"Oh…" The golden blonde was taken aback but felt pleased with the words coming from Aurora.

"What has gotten into you? Normally, you wouldn't care a single bit about my opinion." Aurora turned to face Vivian. The other girl scowled at the sky as if it had wronged her.

"Arachne. She is such a… ARGH!" The outburst coming from the taller girl was a bit unexpected to Aurora.

"You mean, she acknowledged you exist?" That was the thing that sounded the weirdest to Aurora. If she recalled correctly, the only times Arachne would ever speak to Vivian was when the blonde had been spooked by Arachne's Spinarak again. The dark-haired girl found it hilarious and would always say so.

"She did. Arachne asked me if I was also in the race to become a Hoenn Gym Leader." Aurora did not disappoint Vivian as she immediately picked up what the other was implying.

"Well, then you need to be prepared. She is still fond of Poison-types?" Aurora asked softly.

"Yeah."

"You better train hard then."

* * *

The girls had gone back to the Pokémon Center as they had more than an hour left before they were expected at Devon.

As Aurora when to the desk to have Nurse Joy take a look at Riolu and Metagross, Vivian left for the video booths.

She was lucky; most booths were empty and she could immediately call her mother and France.

She called France first as she had spoken to her mother quite recently. Her eyes lit up when she saw his face appear on the monitor.

"This is Red Coast Grounds. I am François Milton. How may I help you?" France was looking half over his shoulder to keep an eye on the eggs behind him.

"Maybe by actually looking at me?" Vivian teased with a small giggle. She could see him turning red at the first word she spoke to him.

"Vivian, my dear. How are you doing on this lovely day?" François made a smooth transition from his embarrassment. He was rewarded with a lovely smile from his friend.

"I just won my second badge of approval from Roxanne." Vivian softly replied to France's question. She was met with a happy François.

"A second badge, that is quick! Who did you and Aurora challenge?" François was happy and curious and Vivian was eager to tell him of her exploits in the two weeks she had been traveling.

"That encounter with that grunt sounds like it could become trouble. But I think you and Aurora are strong enough to handle a few of them." François was worried, but Vivian waved his concerns away.

"Aurora and I will not go looking for trouble; the chances of us encountering Team Aqua again are slim." Vivian was quick to reassured him and switched to another subject.

"We will be having enough trouble going to the next Gym. There aren't many options available to us. The Rustruf Tunnel will not be completed since Devon has shut down the project as it was disturbing the wild Pokémon and the Ferry service has shut down between Petalburg and Slateport. Are we stuck here?" Vivian was at a loss. What was the best thing to do now?

"There is a solution." Vivian snapped her head back to the monitor as François talked.

"You will have to go to Petalburg City and then go east to Oldale Town. North of Oldale Town is a small river that you can cross. The route up ahead is the one that stretches from Slateport to Mauville. It will take you a couple of weeks, but then you can go wherever you want." François was grinning at his admittedly brilliant solution.

"That would work. I'll tell Aurora when she comes back." Vivian was relieved that there was another plan to continue. She and France spoke briefly about his work, when he had to hang up as one of the eggs started to hatch.

Vivian called her mother shortly after to tell her about what had happened and to ask about Mimi Jr. and Azurill.

Nurse Rosenfeld was tired after a harsh shift but was understandably happy that her daughter called home. She kept the phone call short but did give a complete update about Vivian's Pokémon.

Azurill was doing a lot better, thanks to the efforts of Mime Jr. He was not ready to go back to fighting, but it wouldn't take that much more time. Maybe in a month's time, Azurill would be able to travel alongside his Trainer and his teammates again.

After exchanging goodbyes with her mother and a promise to call again soon, Vivian hung up. She sat there for a minute before she realized that Aurora was still not back. She stood up and walked towards the desk. As she passed a private booth, Vivian could hear Aurora's voice come from within.

"I am worried, Riley. I may have painted a target on my back."


	11. Chapter 10: Surprise, Surprise

First of all, Happy New Year!

It has been a while since I uploaded another chapter for DE and I feel terrible for a long time in between uploads, but being in between exams, I don't have that much time left over.

But here is an extra long chapter. As always thanks to the 6th Spectral King for the lovely review.

* * *

Chapter 10: Surprise, Surprise

Aurora had handed her Pokémon over to Nurse Joy and asked if one of the private video booths was open. Nurse Joy nodded and one of the Chansey took her to the nearest open one.

The girl hesitated slightly before closing the door behind her. She was preoccupied with making the call and didn't notice that she hadn't closed the door all the way. As she waited patiently for the one she was calling to respond, the door slid open just a smidge. After three rings of the call, Aurora was ready to hang up, the receiver picked up the call.

Riley's familiar face appeared on the screen. He looked a bit sleepy to Aurora, but she figured that he probably didn't have his coffee yet.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Aurora tried to have her voice appear airy and light. Since she got a scowl in return to her greeting, she had probably succeeded. She tried to see if Riley's partner was nearby, but she couldn't see Lucario. He was probably training outside so she wasn't worried. She was interrupted in her quest to spot Lucario by Riley.

"Morning." He groused. He had only been awake for ten minutes and he hadn't woken up completely yet.

"How is Cynthia doing?" Aurora saw a chance to tease Riley before she had to go to the more serious subjects.

"She is still at the League, but she sends her apologies for not being at your match and her greeting. She would like to speak to you again about the Myths of Johto soon." Riley smiled slightly as he thought of his girlfriend.

"I already told her that I would never blame her for what happened or how it was dealt with and I would love to talk with her again. Good news! I won my second badge." He was about to congratulate her when he saw the look in her eyes.

"Bad news, I may have found myself some trouble. Like the kind that is possibly dangerous…" Aurora winced as she rushed the words out in the open. Riley snapped to attention and looked at his friend. She was standing in a small room, one of the secure rooms in a Pokémon Center perhaps.

She was concerned and it showed in her posture. She was clutching her hand above her heart and she was biting her lip. He almost didn't recognize the usual confident woman. That was more worry some than anything else.

"What happened?" His voice was harsh and she flinched from the sound. Riley wanted to hit himself, Aurora didn't like raised voices or the sound of rocks falling as they reminded her of how she gained her scars.

"I am sorry. Please. Will you tell me what happened?" The Trainer on Iron Island had to force himself to calm down. She nodded, giving a small sigh and began to explain her encounter with the Aqua grunt in the Petalburg Woods. She recalled the promise that the grunt made: that his team had more planned in Rustboro. And all day long she had felt off. Not only her pity party in which she had stewed in her negative feelings, but she had also the feeling she was being watched.

"I am worried, Riley. I may have painted a target on my back." Aurora confessed. She gripped her shirt tightly in her fist. She continued speaking softly. Riley had to strain his ears to hear her.

"It is probably not a big target, but if I interfere again… someone might look farther than just the surface. If they are anything like Team Rocket…" She trailed off slowly. Aurora gave a small sigh. Doom scenarios fleeted through her mind, but she shook them away. Nothing had happened. Yet.

Riley looked thoughtful as he pondered over what she said that had happened. Team Aqua? He had never heard of them and yet, he could see why Aurora was worried. Evil crime syndicates really liked using that as part of their name. Team Rocket, Team Galactic, and Team Plasma.

"Just be careful from now on. Cynthia and Lucario would miss you immensely." Riley was sure that no matter what, Aurora would follow what her heart told her too and that the right decision would come to his friend. Even if it took some time for her to listen to the words that were said.

She nodded and gave her greetings to Riley. She felt a bit better after she had told somebody else of her feelings. Vivian wouldn't be able to understand. Not like Riley, who had had to fight for his life against Team Galactic in the same year that she had been in Johto. And she couldn't burden the optimistic girl with her problems again. Especially when she didn't know if there was any reason to worry in the first place.

* * *

Vivian scrambled away from the open door when she heard the person on the other side of the line of the video phone answer. She mechanically moved her feet towards the desk to give Sylveon's Poké Ball to Chansey. As she waited for the Normal-type to return, Vivian started to think about the implications of what Aurora had said. Altaria crooned softly as she tried to comfort her Trainer.

Vivian appreciated her starter's effort immensely, but she fell into her heavy thoughts.

Aurora feared that she would become a target for Team Aqua. Vivian wasn't sure what to think of this information. Why did her friend think she would become a target? Aurora was capable of protecting herself, she had persisted on that fact being hammered into everyone else's heads. François had been on the receiving end of Aurora's cutting remarks and Vivian had heard that same thing a hundred times at the very least.

She and Aurora had been in the right place at the right time to interfere with one plan and that was the end of it. They weren't going to look for trouble again.

Logically, there was no reason for Vivian to reveal that she had overheard her friend's conversation. After all, it could have been paranoia and Aurora's statement was based completely on speculation, not facts.

But something said that she had to watch out. And she trusted that feeling. She decided that she would keep an eye out for any strange behavior that Aurora may display. It was no longer just Aurora alone. Aurora had Vivian to help her again. It was her time to be strong for Aurora.

"Chansey." Vivian gave the nurse Pokémon a look of appreciation and received Sylveon from the Pokémon.

With a flash, the pink fox returned to the outside world and she gave a happy cry when she saw her Trainer.

Aurora appeared a bit later. She was looking at everything, but Vivian. The taller girl felt her heart bleed for her friend.

* * *

The walk to Devon was silent. Altaria had opted out of going into a building where she could get stuff in her pristine white wings. She did go with them but would remain outside in the lovely sunshine. Leafeon and Sylveon attracted much attention form the children by frolicking happily in front of their Trainers as they made their way to Devon. Their Trainers had other things on their mind and stayed quiet during the walk.

Aurora was keeping an eye out for anything that looked suspicious. She couldn't shake off the subtle feeling that something was wrong. But she couldn't find anything and gradually her posture relaxed and she started to enjoy the antics her Leafeon got into. The closer they got to the giant building that housed Devon, the more she felt assured that the feelings were just her paranoia.

Vivian smiled as she felt, more than saw, Aurora relax a bit. The shorter girl had been high strung and a bit distracted even since she had her talk with that guy. It was a lot better now.

"What do you think Darren wants to show us?" The question was part curiosity and part distraction. Vivian had never been to such a company and wasn't sure what she could expect. Sure, the Poké Ball Company was located next to Laverre, but that was a manufacturing factory, not something that developed the goods that send Trainers scrambling to the shelves.

It seemed that Aurora didn't know what to expect either.

"Hm. That wouldn't be something that I can easily answer. I mean, companies like Devon and Silph are the vanguard on developing items that Trainers would consider being the next best thing since sliced bread." Aurora shrugged as she hid her own excitement.

Sure, she liked the thingies because they made her life easier, but she wasn't all that interested in the process that developed these things. But the chance to see what was developed wasn't one she was going to let go. She slowly let her thoughts wander to what Darren was probably doing right now.

"But I really don't think I would be able to stand in a lab hunched over a prototype all day and then have to return the next day to tinker with it for the rest of my life." Aurora was being melodramatic as she made grand gestures to support her words.

She made the mistake to look at Vivian while she was talking. When their eyes met, they busted out in a laugh.

Their Pokémon looked back when they heard the Humans laughing.

Leafeon looked back at his Trainer and shook his head. She was such a handful these days. Going from one extreme to the other. He could hear that her laugh was genuine and he perked up a bit. Sylveon pressed her side against the Grass-type to show her support.

The pink fox knew all about weird Trainers and while Leafeon's Human might have been a bit weird, she was kind and loyal, strong and gentle. The Fairy then looked at her own laughing Trainer and gave her own version of a smile.

Sylveon had picked right this time. Sylveon's Human was simply the best choice she had ever made.

The Eeveelutions waited for their respective Trainers to come out of their laughing fit and then calmly walked beside them to the destination.

* * *

"There it is, Devon!" Vivian was excited to see Darren again, even more so to see how the development of Trainer items worked. Besides it wasn't every day that you got to see the items of the next season. She was hopping from one foot to the other. Aurora was going too slow for her liking.

"Aurora, hurry up!"

Aurora trailed after her friend. She was still feeling a bit on edge, but it was manageable. Her hands were hooked behind her head and Leafeon trotted next to her, softly yipping to a blushing Sylveon.

"Yeah, yeah. We are still early. No need to rush." The girl was a bit hesitant to go forward. It had nothing to do with Darren or Vivian. Just her own inability to figure out what it was that she felt. That weird feeling that had settled earlier still burned a bit.

Even going as slow as she did, she reached Vivian in seconds and was grabbed by the arm. Vivian had taken it on herself to make sure Aurora kept up. The second they crossed the threshold her arm was released by Vivian, who continued on her own.

The teal-eyed girl was amazed by the sheer hominess that Devon excluded. The lobby was big and light, there was a small waiting area to her right with soft-looking couches and a glass low table. The walls were painted in a dark tan with cream tiles on the floor. Leafeon had padded up to one of the plants that were dotted around the lobby and sniffed the subtly scented flowers. Aurora gave a smile and crouched to the Eeveelution.

Of course, she noticed the guards posted in strategic places in the lobby. Probably upped security due to the warning that Darren had been given by that Team Aqua grunt.

Vivian flitted to the reception desk with a big smile and a cheerful mood. Sylveon had linked her ribbons around her Trainer's arm and trotted next to the girl.

"Good afternoon." The blonde girl gave the receptionist her best smile.

"Oh, good afternoon, Miss. My name is Lydia. How can I help you?" The receptionist was a girl, slightly older than Aurora and Vivian, who looked a bit suspicious at the two Trainers. With the threat that had been issued to the company, you could never be too sure.

"We have an appointment with Darren Higgs. Is he in at the moment?" Aurora inquired. Vivian looked at Aurora in surprise. The girl had a tendency to sneak up on people unexpectedly. Or maybe Vivian wasn't paying attention to her friend for a bit. That could also be the case.

Lydia thought about it for a second. She hadn't seen Darren at all today. Maybe he had come in really early? He was registered to be at work.

"I will call his department to see if he is there. Would you please wait a moment?" Lydia's mood had lightened considerably when they had mentioned Darren. The receptionist dialed the developing department.

As she waited for someone to pick up the phone, she studied the girls in front of her. They were young, but Lydia could see the wisdom in their eyes. They were guarded but had incredibly open expressions.

These girls were no troublemakers. Lydia subtly signaled to the guards that she expected no trouble from them. And that they could focus on other things.

She then heard someone pick up the other side. Lydia spoke in the receiver while she looked at the guard schedule that had just come in via e-mail.

"Hello, I have two girls standing here at the reception desk for an appointment with Prof. Higgs. Is he nearby?"

Aurora and Vivian held an eye Lydia while they were conversing softly with each other.

"Oh, is that so? Very well, I will inform them." Lydia hung up after saying goodbye and focused on the girls in front of her desk.

"It will take a few minutes. They are currently testing a proto-type of a new type of Poké Ball." She gave the girls a soft smile as they nodded in response.

"That is fine, we were a bit early anyway. We will wait by the couches if that is alright with you?" Vivian was bouncing again and Aurora gave a slightly nervous laugh. Lydia gave a soft giggle and nodded, waving them to the couches.

A while later, Lydia called out to them that Darren was on his way and that he should be down soon.

Vivian jumped up from the couch, excited to start. Aurora raised from her spot a bit more slowly. The saw Darren come down the staircase when alarms started blaring above their heads. The guards immediately shouted for the girls to stay where they were and to not move from the couch area. Aurora and Vivian were frozen to the spot anyway, so that wasn't a problem.

A male in a familiar striped outfit raced down the stairs with a package in his hands and tried to make his way outside. His escape was aided by the Golbat that was flying around his head. The guards were wholly underprepared for an escape from inside and fell to the floor after being hit by a powerful Hypnosis. Darren was shoved out of the way and fell off the last step. Aurora and Vivian were still standing on their spot as they saw the Team Aqua grunt race past the area they were in.

Before Aurora could make a move, the Golbat appeared in front of her. Aurora recoiled backward. She had a serious problem with the thing. Those Screeches it could produce were awful.

As if it could read her mind, the Golbat let out a Screech that forced Aurora to hang on to something so she wouldn't lose her sense of balance. Even so, Aurora winced at the harsh Screech that was let loose by the bat. She had heard worse, but this one came very close.

Vivian gave a small cry while she pressed her hands firmly over her ears, this was unlike what she had ever heard before. She didn't have the pleasure of hearing a point blank Screech before. And now she got the hatred Aurora had for the bats.

Leafeon and Sylveon were behind the couch and out of reach. They watched with big eyes as their Trainers were attacked by the bat. Both of them knew that they wouldn't have the advantage and stayed low to the ground. Leafeon held Sylveon down as she cried out in worry for her Human. She trembled as she was forced to wait it out.

The golden-haired girl was dVivian. Her head felt like it would burst in a thousand pieces and it was spinning so fast. She was disorientated and fell backward on the couch. Vivian curled up in a ball, wishing that her head would stop spinning. Her heart was beating in her throat and she felt sick.

"Vivian, can you focus?" Aurora kneeled next to the couch, she was concerned when she saw Vivian fall over because of the Screech. She got no response from Vivian and Aurora felt so insignificant. She remembered that Vivian had sensitive ears and had problems with loud sounds. Darren tried to help her with Vivian, but he was panicking.

"That was the same thug as before and he stole the important parcel. What do I do? Oh, this is all my fault!" Darren wailed as it started to sink in.

Aurora felt bad for Darren, he had so much trouble. She gave another look at her friend and realized she could do nothing for her. That said, she made a split-second decision.

"Lydia, Darren, take care of Vivian! I'll go after that thief. Leafeon, guard Vivian until I get back." Not waiting on an answer from the shocked receptionist or scientist, the girl stood up and ran out of the door, chasing after the Team Aqua grunt.

* * *

Altaria was resting just above the entrance of the building her Trainer had gone into. It was a lovely day and the sun was shining warmly. The bird let out a content sigh as she settled to go to sleep.

A loud sound came from within the building and Altaria was spooked by the sudden appearance of it. She had jumped in the air to see what happened and the sound grew a bit louder as the doors slid open to reveal a person. Altaria had a feeling that the person was familiar, but she couldn't lay her talon on it.

She watched the figure leave towards the edge of town. Why was he in such a hurry? The golden bird spied a blue Pokémon flying after the person and she narrowed her eyes. Was that a Golbat?

"Altaria! Did you see someone run out the building?" The bird looked towards the ground and saw her Human's friend shouting at her. The Berry Lady wasn't happy.

So Altaria swooped down and hovered in place before her Trainer's friend. She gave a nod to the girl and waited for instructions.

"Show me where he went. He stole stuff and he injured a lot of people." The voice was cold and indifferent. Altaria had heard it before once. It hadn't been pleasant for the ones involved. The bird looked towards the building and then sharply back at the Human in front of her.

The cold teal eyes narrowed even further.

The bird nodded and with a flourish she rose back into the sky. Altaria flew away in the direction she had last seen the person fleeing in, well aware that the Berry Lady had started following her at high speed.

* * *

Aurora raced through the streets of the City Several people were getting back up from where they had been shoved to the ground by the others. Aurora had to jump over several obstacles that the grunt had thrown over to hinder any pursuers. She praised herself for keeping up with her jumping ability. She held Altaria in close view and was extremely happy to leave the confines of Rustboro.

She felt the ground under her feet change into a dirt path and she dug her feet in the ground harder, gaining a bit more speed. Her breathing was a bit heavier, but she was good for another while.

Altaria was circling above a crevice in the rocks a bit further ahead.

Aurora let her run end slowly, making sure not to trip over something as stupid as a small piece of rock. Or an evolution stone.

She peeked into the crevice carefully and saw an elderly man trying to get up from where he was laying.

"Are you alright, Sir?" Aurora shot forward to help the man back to his feet. It seemed that except for a small scare he wasn't injured, but his eyes were tearing up.

"Please, you must help me." The man pleaded with Aurora, who was a bit surprised by the sudden plea for help.

"What has happened?" Aurora didn't want to commit to anything since she had something else to do, but the man didn't seem to have heard her.

"Ohhh, what am I to do? We were just out on our walk, Peeko and I, when we were attacked by an odd thug… And then the scoundrel made off with my darling Peeko! Where are yooouuu?! Peeeeeeko!" The man wailed with tears streaming down his face. He had his head in his hands as he stared at the ground.

The words struck Aurora. Odd thug and scoundrel? Her eyes widened in realization. It surely couldn't be.

"Did that odd thug wear a striped shirt and a black bandana?" She softly laid a hand on the man's shoulder to gain his attention.

He looked at her with teary eyes, before nodding to her question. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist tightly. The man could swear he saw blue flames rising behind her as she was glaring in the distance. He took a step back when she gazed at him.

"Great. I'll go after the thug. Don't worry, just stay here. I will bring your Peeko back for you." And Aurora was off again, Altaria leading the way once again. The man could only stare after her in wonder.

* * *

She passed several Trainers who seemed a bit perturbed by something. She caught whispers of a Wingull held by a wing and dragged off by a dark-skinned Trainer, who looked like a pirate.

She pushed herself harder and she reached a working site. But it didn't seem like anyone was working. She skidded to a halt and looked for Altaria. The golden bird was perched on a ledge just above a cave opening.

"He went in there?" Altaria nodded her small head. And Aurora had to swallow her fears back. Great, a dark cave to venture in. Whoop-de-doo. Why?

Aurora unclipped two Poké Balls from her ever-present belt and released the two Pokémon inside them without her customary shout.

Vulpix and Banette appeared in a bright flash and looked at the Human. She was serious and they immediately straightened up to listen to their Trainer.

"We are in pursuit of a person that has stolen stuff and has a potential hostage. I need the two of you to be on guard." Aurora saw that her Pokémon were ready and gave her instructions.

"Banette, you are on shadow duty but stay close to us. He has, at least, a Golbat, so use Shock Wave as soon as you can. Vulpix, you are my decoy. Feel free to fry the bat if you have a clear shot." Both Pokémon gave confirmation and waited for Aurora to man up and go into the dark cave.

With a shuddering breath, Aurora stepped into the cave with Vulpix on her heels. The Fire-type used a low powered version of her Flame Charge and lightened the way for her Trainer. Banette had sunk into the shadows and was currently hidden in the ceiling shadows.

Vulpix's flames worked in reducing her fear of the cave and Aurora was able to make quick progress.

"Well damn!" A rough voice came from around the bend and Aurora gave an evil grin as she heard the swearing. Time to have a face-off with the thug.

"What is wrong? Your escape path is blocked off?" Her voice echoed off the wall and she slowly revealed herself as she leaned against the wall. He looked at her with a glare that tried to make her go up in flames.

"What a shame that is." She gave him a mock pout.

"What are you doing here, girlie? Think you can take me?" He snarled at her. He thought he had no pursuers.

Aurora just gave him a mocking smile.

They weren't that far in the tunnel, maybe a quarter mile or so, and it was brighter than she had expected.

Her eyes spied a movement in the corner: a Wingull sitting on the ground, shivering and its wing was not in its normal state. The grunt was still holding the package that he had stolen from Devon and the other had inching to his belt.

"You really think that that is a good option to take right now?" Aurora gestured to her Vulpix, who let her flames grow and was snarling menacingly at the grunt.

He just let out a laugh and whistled sharply.

Aurora did not even turn around to look at the Golbat as he showed up behind her. As she stared at the grunt, Banette took care of the bat with a well-aimed Shock Wave. The flash of lighting lit up the entire corridor and the grunt was able to see the hard edge in her teal eyes.

"Are you still going to call out that Poochyena of yours? Or are you going to give up and hand the package and the Pokémon in the corner to me?" Aurora's voice was no longer mocking or playful.

The grunt shivered. There was no way he was going to win this. How to solve this?

He had an idea. He first recalled his Golbat and then slowly pretended to raise his hands in the air. He could see the girl giving him all her attention and then struck. The package was thrown with considerable force at her and she scrambled not to fall down or let the package drop on the rocky ground. The Vulpix let its flames die in surprise and it all went dark.

He quickly snuck away and rushed back to the exit. The commander was going to be furious for failing twice in a row. But that Trainer was way too strong and he hadn't expected her to meddle in his mission again. Oh well, maybe it would be Shelly who yelled at him.

* * *

Aurora was blinded by the sunlight as she stepped out of the cave into the fresh air. Altaria gave a small trill and landed next to Aurora on the ground. The girl gave the bird a smile as her hands were full with the package and the Wingull.

"Think you can lead me back to the Wingull's Trainer, you flying menace?" Normally, Altaria would sit on her head for that comment, but now the bird just nodded and took off slowly.

Aurora felt tired as the adrenaline wore off. Vulpix and Banette walked beside her and they made sure that their Trainer would be left alone for the walk back to the city. The girl couldn't wait for the moment she could give everything back to their respective owners.

Soon, she could see the elderly man coming up to her.

"I saw the golden Altaria in the air coming back in this direction. Did you find Peeko?" The man was talking fast and in response, Aurora showed him the injured Wingull.

"Peeko! Am I glad to see you're safe! Your wing is a bit hurt, but that will heal with time." He gently took Peeko from Aurora. The man looked Peeko over in a careful manner and when he was satisfied with his inspection, he turned to Aurora.

"My Peeko owes her life an' freedom to you, lass! They call me Mr. Briney. And you are?" He extended his hand out to her and she shook it firmly. He nodded approvingly of her handshake.

"My name is Aurora Lockwood, Mr. Briney." Aurora shifted the package in her arms now that she had both of the available for use.

Ah, so it's Aurora, is it now! Then I sincerely thank you, Aurora! If there's ever a thing I can do to help you, in turn, don't you hesitate to tell me. If I'm to be found, it will always be at my cottage by the sea near Petalburg Woods." Mr. Briney walked with her towards the city, when Aurora said that she had to bring the package back to Devon.

"Devon, eh? My old friend is the President there. I was visiting him and his lovely wife this week." Mr. Briney spoke loudly. And Aurora had to stifle a laugh at the sailor's happy behavior. Peeko sat on this shoulder and made soft cooing noises to show her happiness.

"This is my last day here before I go back home. I like the business of the city, but only in small bursts. Besides the sea is my home." Mr. Briney sighed dreamingly.

Aurora, Mr. Briney, and their Pokémon reached Devon in less time than Aurora had expected and they walked into the busy lobby.

* * *

Vivian was talking to several police officers, giving statement about what had happened. Leafeon was sitting next to the golden blonde and growled at everyone that came within a two foot radius. The officers had wisely stayed out of the way.

The blonde had told the Eeveelution that it wasn't necessary and that she was fine, but he wouldn't budge. Eventually, she had given up and waited for her wayward friend to return.

Lydia had given her a hot cup of tea with loads of sugar and Vivian was currently playing with the plastic cup, while she was talking to the male officers. She was worried about Aurora. That girl could never stay out of trouble, now could she? She had watched Roxanne come in with the police officers. Apparently, she had heard the alarms and had come running from the Gym.

Roxanne and Officer Jenny were talking in hushed voices about the appearance of a person that claimed to be part of an organization with the name Team Aqua. Vivian sighed. Maybe Aurora had the right idea to be worried about that grunt.

A whistle cut through the air of the lobby and Leafeon left his post to run to his Trainer. He quickly leaned on his Trainer with his front paws and demanded attention. It was a good thing that he had been around to guard the other Human, every single male had looked like they wanted to devour the blonde.

Aurora just rolled her eyes and scratched his head, just behind his head leaf. He gave a content purr and nuzzled her side.

"Where have you been, Aurora? I was worried about you! You can't just go and leave!" Vivian had finished giving her statement and was now stalking to her friend and Mr. Briney, who stood next to her. He was watching the crowd with a sort of sadistic glee.

"I went after that thief to get the package back. Altaria was kind enough to lead me to him." Aurora was speaking slightly above a whisper. She was tired and wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest for a bit.

Of course, with all the stares she would never get even the slightest bit of quiet but that was fine.

"Besides I did not just go and left you all here. I left Leafeon to stand guard and I would never leave him somewhere without coming back to him." She hissed to Vivian. The two were standing against each other, neither of them willing to yield to the other.

Vivian broke first.

"I know, I was just so worried." Vivian crossed the small space and wrapped her arms around Aurora. Who in turn wrapped her free arm around Vivian.

"I'm fine, Vivian. Just a bit tired." Aurora smiled softly as she pulled back from the brief hug.

"I am to understand that you went after the thief yourself?" Rustboro's officer Jenny was now standing in front of the two girls and was asking questions.

"I did. Look, I am sorry, but would you mind if I sit down while you ask your questions? I have had a busy day and I am exhausted right now." Aurora saw Darren coming out of the elevator with a couple walking behind him.

Great, she could dump the package on someone, who had enough clearance to actually do something with it. She hoped.

"Yo, Darren. I think this belongs to Devon." She held the package up for everybody to see. Darren gave a relieved sigh and the couple behind him looked considerably happier.

"Officer Jenny, would you mind if we go to my office for this conversation?" The man behind Darren spoke up for the first time.

"I don't see why we couldn't. But you better tell everything you know." The formidable woman pointed with a sharp finger in Aurora's direction.

She just raised her, now empty, hands.

"Of course, I will co-operate with your investigation, Officer Jenny. You will get no resistance from me. As long as I can sit down."

* * *

Aurora and Vivian were led to a big office on the highest floor of the building. The office was big enough for a meeting table to be place in the room with a separate space for a normal desk and several display cases. Aurora recognized the items in the cases as evolution stones. She even saw the unmistakable coloring of a Mega Stone, but she couldn't recalled for which Pokémon it was.

She felt a bit vulnerable without her trusty Pokémon at her side. On instruction of the man who had offered his office for the talk, she and Vivian had recalled all their Pokémon in their Poké Balls.

Aurora recounted the tale for Officer Jenny and the rest of her audience. She even included the incident in the Petalburg Woods for Jenny. She told of the chase, how she found Mr. Briney and of what happened in the cave.

Vivian was relieved when she heard that Aurora had not walked into the cave without a plan. She had two of her Pokémon out and Altaria had kept a good eye on the blonde. Aurora had been careful.

Mr. Briney, who had been invited to the meeting too, inserted his part into the story as well, whenever it was needed. Everyone had laughed at the man's dramatic inserts about his "darling Peeko".

After telling everything Aurora could remember that could be of use to the investigation, both Officer Jenny and Roxanne left to inform others of the developments. Roxanne had laid a reassuring hand on Aurora's shoulder before she left the building to inform the League of what happened.

Aurora felt grateful for the small gesture that Roxanne made. It was more than just reassurance to her. The gesture showed that Roxanne stood behind her, and that was something Aurora needed.

Now that the interrogation was over, Aurora studied the faces of the others that sat across from her around the meeting table. She knew Darren, Vivian and Mr. Briney. The elder couple where the unknown factors. Maybe these people were the President of Devon and his wife? That would explain why Mr. Briney was speaking so familiarly with the woman.

She had the nagging feeling that she had met the man before, but he looked too old to be the one she was thinking off. But he looked so familiar to her. She decided to stay quiet and wait it out.

Vivian was fidgeting with the hem of her white shirt. She was eager to leave Rustboro and get to the next town, one that hopefully had no criminals running around. Not that she didn't like Rustboro, but she wanted some peace, instead of being forced to deal with the police. She leaned back in her comfy chair and watched the blue skies outside the window. A flock of Taillow flew right beside the window and Vivian longed to see how Altaria was doing.

The man stood up and spoke directly to the girls.

"I'm Joseph Stone, the president of the Devon Corporation. And this is my lovely wife, Marion." Mrs. Stone was a pretty-looking woman of about fifty years of age, but she didn't look like it. With her soft auburn brown and gray hair, golden eyes, and a face only enhanced by laughing lines, she looked a bit like autumn come alive. This was further enhanced by the dress she wore in the same color scheme.

She gave a friendly nod, but stayed quiet, preferring to let her husband handle the situation.

Mr. Stone, on the other hand, sported a head full of spiky, light steel blue hair and eyes of the same color. He looked a bit stern with his pristine suit, but the same laughing lines as his wife's, betrayed his jovial nature.

"I heard just now how we have quite a bit to thank you two for." He continued.

Aurora and Vivian tried to wave it off, but he cut them off. He looked at them with a stern expression.

"You helped out my staff not just once, but twice. You had no obligation to do such a thing and yet you risked your well-being for my company. That in itself deserves a reward." He insisted.

Vivian shook her head.

"I had no hand in the situation that happened today. Please, do not bother with anything. I don't feel like I deserve anything for that." She knew that she would have helped, but she had been taken out in the first few minutes.

"If you want to reward anyone it would be Aurora, her Pokémon and my Altaria. No one else."

Aurora look at her friend with new eyes. That was surprisingly noble. Anyone would have taken the praise, but Vivian had refused. Her eyes softened. Maybe she had been wrong about Vivian being naïve and being unknowing of the world.

Mr. Stone nodded in reply to Vivian's refusal of being included in the praise. She was quite the young lady. He could see Marion nod in approval of the girl.

"Very well then, Miss?" It then occurred to the girls that they hadn't introduced themselves yet.

"I am sorry. My name is Vivian Evergreen and I am currently competing for a spot as a Hoenn Gym Leader." Vivian gave a small blush, as she introduced herself. She then nudged Aurora to do the same.

"I am Aurora Lockwood. It is nice to meet you." Aurora didn't know how to say what she was currently doing in Hoenn, most of the time normal, well-off people looked down upon League Trainers.

"She is a League Trainer, who is taking on the Hoenn Challenge. You won your second badge today, right?" Darren told for her. She gave him a grateful look.

"I did win the Stone Badge today. In fact, my Metang evolved into a Metagross during the battle with Roxanne." She stated with a proud smile.

It became eerie silent in the office.

"Did I say something wrong?" Aurora looked at Mr. and Mr. Stone with a surprised look.

"No, it is just that my son also has a Metagross and he says that while they are amazing Pokémon, they are incredibly hard to keep control off, unless you are a very experienced Trainer." Mrs. Stone said while her face returned to her normal serene expression.

"Wait, your son? Is he almost six feet high, same hair as Mr. Stone and golden eyes? Talks about stones, his favorite Pokémon-type is Steel, and he has a Metagross?" Aurora asked. Vivian looked at Aurora with a startled expression. Where did this come from?

"That sounds like Steven. Why?" Mr. Stone looked at Aurora with a calculating look.

"I should have known that he was from Hoenn. He talked almost exclusively about it. I am so stupid." She scolded herself.

Aurora gave Mr. and Mrs. Stone an apologetic look.

"When I first saw you, I thought you looked very familiar to me. Now that I have the connection, I feel so dumb that I didn't see it earlier." She laughed nervously, while scratching her neck in embarrassment. How could she not have made the connection? Well, it had been over a year ago…

"How did you met Steven, if I may ask, Miss Lockwood?" Mrs. Stone was intrigued by the girl, who had apparently met and forgot her son. Normally, girls would fling themselves to her son and try to seduce him. This girl was different. She liked it.

"Oh, umm. It was over a year ago, in Johto. I was competing in the Silver conference that year. While I was waiting for the matches of the quarter finals to be selected, I was outside with Metang. He walked by and I guess that he took an interest in Metang. We talked for a bit and he gave me some great tips for battling with Metang. We never introduced ourselves, but we met up by accident several times after that. He did say that he was in town for a meeting with the Johto Elite Four, but I never figured out what exactly he was doing there." Aurora recalled. She gave a smile to the couple on the other side of the table.

"I would like to thank him, his tips made fighting with Metagross much easier. We managed to win some tough battles thanks to him." Vivian saw Aurora look at the table with a soft smile and an even softer blush. It was so cute! Vivian gave an inward squeal at the thought of the tough Aurora having a crush.

"There's a favor I'd like to ask of a reliable Trainer like you." Mr. Stone looked at her girl with a fond smile.

"It depends on what it is, but I think I should be able to do it." Aurora said, Vivian nodded at that statement.

"Alright, now let me get to the important issue of what it is I need you to do... I want to ask you to deliver this letter to Steven." At these words, Aurora blanched. What?

Mrs. Stone laughed softly at the face the girl was making. She, too, had seen the blush and she shook her head at her husband's antics.

"Dear, you should explain why first, before you say anything else." She softly admonished Mr. Stone. He laughed sheepishly and Mr. Briney gave a bouldering laugh.

Aurora just shrunk further in her comfy chair. Why did she have to say that?

"As you probably understand, we have a severe problem with the appearance of Team Aqua. The package that they tried to steal contains parts that were commissioned by the shipyard in Slateport. The parts belong to a submarine that is going to make a dive in the area where Kyorge is said to slumber." Mr. Stone stood and walked to the window, sighing as he looked out over Rustboro.

"I can see why that would be a problem. A legendary Pokémon on the loose would be terrifying." Vivian commented. She was deep in thought about it and almost missed Mr. Stone continuing.

"We cannot be certain that the connections of the PokéNav are still secure, so that way is out to inform Steven of what is happening. And since he is the Hoenn Champion, he has to stay up-to-date with the news." Mr. Stone grimaced at the thought of his company being hacked by a set of thugs.

Aurora's mouth had fallen open. That guy, Steven, was the Champion of the Hoenn League? She closed her mouth slowly. It would make sense. And it explained why he never told her that.

"You should find be able to find him in Dewford Town. The last I heard, he was visiting Brawly. You'll have to cross the sea to reach Dewford, of course." Mr. Stone told the two of them.

"That is going to be a problem. The Ferry service between Petalburg and Dewford had stopped, because many of the ships have been damaged by weird incidents, President Stone." Darren looked up from his papers to address his boss.

"Is that so? Well, then. I know a solution to your problem, young lasses." Mr. Briney piped up. Mr. Stone looked gratefully at his old friend.

"You would be willing to bring us there?" It had dawned on Aurora seconds after Mr. Briney had spoken up and when she got a nod from him, she gave a big smile. They would be able to go to Dewford after all! Vivian smiled happily to Aurora. That would make it all much easier. Aurora smiled back at her friend.

"I'll make sure you get to Petalburg fast, this letter is important." With this Mr. Stone handed over both the letter he had written and the parcel that Aurora had recovered from the Team Aqua grunt.

"The parcel?" Aurora asked in confusion. She looked up to Mr. Stone.

"You are probably our best bet to get it there safely. Would you take it there for me?" Mr. Stone pleaded.

"I will. It seems that our tour has to be rescheduled, Darren." She gave a small smile to the scientist. He just wove it away.

"It can't be helped. This is more important." Darren gave a wry smile.

"Indeed, young Higgs. This is important. Miss. Lockwood, I was informed you have a Vulpix?" Aurora nodded at Mr. Stone's question.

"For all your help the past week, I would like to offer you the use of my Fire Stone."

Vivian had to elbow Aurora before she responded.

"I would love to, Mr. Stone. Vulpix has wanted to evolve for the longest time now. Do you mind if I call her out to ask?" She reached for Vulpix's Ball and summoned the fire fox into the office. Mrs. Stone held the stone in her hands while they waited for the fox to materialize.

Vulpix appeared in a white light and gave a yawn to her Trainer. Aurora crouched in front of the fox and petted the curls. Vulpix purred in response.

"Hey, Vulpix. We have been offered the use of a Fire Stone. Do you still want to evolve?" Aurora watched Vulpix grow still. The fox slowly lifted her head and looked in her Trainer's eyes. Then she launched herself at her Trainer and nuzzled her head against her Trainer's cheek.

"VUL!" Vulpix pulled back and nodded happily.

Mrs. Stone gave the stone to the happy pair and stood back.

"Okay, here goes. You ready?" Aurora was ecstatic, Vulpix was finally able to grow into her next stage. Vulpix placed her paw on the stone in response and the fiery glow in the stone died down, only to light up Vulpix.

The glow expanded as Vulpix grew, almost doubling in size. Her tails split into nine and her fur lightened into a golden-white with the tips of the tails remaining a pale-orange color. The curls on her head straightened out and a small mane grew around her neck. The glow died down and a Ninetales was sitting in the spot where Vulpix had been a moment ago. Ninetales opened her eyes and Aurora saw the ruby red coloration.

"You look beautiful, Ninetales."

* * *

A while later, Aurora and Vivian sat in the back of a car. Mr. Briney sat in front, as they were driven back to Petalburg Harbor. Vivian was staring outside with Altaria on her lap. The bird had refused to go back in her Poké Ball and Aurora didn't want to be tickled with every movement the car made.

The reddish blonde looked out the window to see the trees rushing by. They would save a lot of time this way. But she could feel the letter burning in her pocket.

A smile made its way onto her face. She was going to see him again.


End file.
